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UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA 


THE  NATURE  BACKGROUND  IN  THE 

DRAMAS  OF 

GERHART  HAUPTMANN 


BY 

MARY  AGNES  QUIMBY 


A  THESIS 

PRESENTED  TO  THE  FACULTY  OF  THE  GRADUATE  SCHOOL  IN 

PARTIAL  FULFILLMENT  OF  THE  REQUIREMENTS  FOR 

THE  DEGREE  OF  DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY 


INTERNATIONAL  PRINTING  COMPANY 

PHILADELPHIA 

1918 


^7/ 


THE  NATURE  BACKGROUND  IN  THE  DRAMAS  OF 
GERHART  HAUPTMANN. 


CHAPTER  I. 
Introduction. 

The  significance  of  the  nature  element  in  literary  art  is 
too  well  recognized  to  demand  a  special  defense  here.  Professor 
Camillo  von  Klenze's  comprehensive  resume^  of  the  books  and 
articles  dealing  with  the  nature-sense,  supplemented  by  Miss  Rey- 
nolds' bibliography  and  review  in  the  introduction  to  her  large 
work  on  "The  Treatment  of  Nature  in  English  Poetry  between 
Pope  and  Wordsworth,"^  show  how  the  subject  has  continued  to 
occupy  the  attention  of  literary  critics  ever  since  the  appearance 
in  1794  of  Schiller's  Essay  "tjber  die  naive  und  sentimentale 
Dichtung".  The  reason  for  this  interest,  explained  at  some 
length  in  that  standard  work  of  Alfred  Biese's,  "Die  Entwick- 
elung  des  Naturgefiihls  im  Mittelalter  und  in  der  Neuzeit"; 
(1888),  has  been  summed  up  in  one  sentence  by  Professor  von 
Klenze  in  his  article  entitled  "The  Treatment  of  Nature  in  the 
Works  of  Nikolaus  Lenau."^  He  says  "An  artist's  attitude! 
toward  nature,  whether  his  medium  be  language  or  line  and  color, 
is  the  subtlest  expression  of  his  individuality."  Corroboration 
of  this  is  found  again  and  again  in  statements  made  by  nature 
lovers  themselves.  Walt  Whitman  hints  at  it  parenthetically  in 
the  following  description  of  the  sea : 

"The  attractions,  fascinations  there  are  In  sea  and  shore! 
How  one  dwells  on  their  simplicity,  even  vacuity!  What 
is  it  in  us,  arous'd  by  those  indirections  and  directions?  That 


*  von  Klenze,  Journal  of  Germanic  Philology,  II  ( 1898) ,  pp.  239  ff . 

^  Myra  Reynolds,  The  Treatment  of  Nature  in  English  Poetry  (Chicago. 
1909),  pp.  XV  ff. 

To  these  lists  should  be  added  Grillparzer  as  a  Poet  of  Nature,  by  Faust 
Charles  de  Walsh  (New  York,  1910). 

'  The  University  of  Chicago  Press— Decennial  Publications.  First  Series, 
(1903).  VoL  VII,  pp.  20.  ff, 

(3) 


420206 


4       Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gcrhart  Hauptntann 

spread  of  waves  and  gray-white  beach,  salt,  monotonous, 
senseless — such  an  entire  absence  of  art,  books,  talk,  ele- 
gance— so  indescribably  comforting,  even  this  winter  day — 
grim,  yet  so  delicate  looking,  so  spiritual — striking,  emo- 
tional, impalpable  depths,  subtler  than  all  the  jx)ems,  paint- 
ings, music  I  have  ever  read,  seen,  heard.  (Yet  let  me  be 
fair,  perhaps  it  is  because  I  have  read  those  poems  and 
heard  that  music.)"* 

This  man,  though  he  loved  nature  so  jealously  that  he  made 
his  outdoor  notes  upon  the  scenes  which  they  describe  and  left 
them  "impromptu",  as  he  says,  so  afraid  was  he  of  "dropping 
what  smack  of  outdoors  or  sun  or  starlight  might  cling  to  the 
lines"  admits  more  positively  and  directly  in  the  following  para- 
graph the  importance  of  the  subjective  element:  "Nature  con- 
sists not  only  in  itself,  objectively,  but  at  least  just  as 
much  in  the  subjective  reflection  from  the  person,  spirit,  age, 
looking  at  it,  in  the  midst  of  it  and  absorbing  it — faithfully  sends 
back  the  characteristic  belief  of  the  time  or  the  individual,  takes 
and  readily  gives  again  the  physiognomy  of  any  nation  or  litera- 
ture— falls  like  a  great  elastic  veil  on  a  face  or  like  the  molding 
plaster  on  a  statue."^ 

No  thorough  study  has  yet  been  made  of  the  nature  element 
in  modem  naturalistic  literature.  As  a  beginning  of  such  an 
investigation  in  the  field  of  German  literature  this  phase  of 
Hauptmann's  dramatic  art  will  be  analyzed  in  the  following  chap- 
ters. This  selection  by  no  means  implies  a  necessary  belief  in 
the  immortality  of  Hauptmann's  dramas.  They  have  been 
chosen  primarily  because  they  represent  in  their  entirety  a  pecu- 
liarly significant  record  of  the  various  tendencies  of  the  natural- 
istic period.  The  necessity  of  emphasizing  the  truth  of  this 
statement  may  justify  a  review,  in  brief  outline,  of  the  evolution 
of  naturalism  in  Germany  and  of  its  expression  in  the  dramatic 
art  of  Hauptmann.^ 


*  Walt  Whitman,  Specimen  Days,  p.  88  (Small,  Maynard  &  Co.,  Boston, 
1901). 

"Walt  Whitman,  Poetry  To-day  in  America,  p.  290  (Boston,  1901). 

*  The  following  review  lays  no  claim  to  originality.     It  is  to  be  found  in 
fuller  form  in  the  various  histories  of  German  literature  which  include  this 


Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann       5 

The  battles  that  raged  during  the  early  eighties  in  the  literary 
centres  of  Berlin  and  Munich  in  the  revolt  against  the  old  prin- 
ciples of  literary  art  resulted,  at  least  in  Berlin,  in  a  victory  for 
Arno  Holz's  theory  of  consistent  naturalism.  While,  of  course, 
a  result  of  various  influences  such  as  those  of  Tolstoi,  Dostoievski, 
Bjomsen,  Strindberg  and  Ibsen,  this  theory  was  based  most 
directly  on  the  principles  of  Zola.  And  Zola,  it  will  be  remem- 
bered, showed  an  interesting  inability  to  keep  his  own  personality 
out  of  his  professedly  naturalistic  novels,  so  that  while  advocating 
in  theory  that  the  material  for  a  novel  should  be  collected  and 
presented  in  exactly  the  same  way  as  that  of  a  botanist  or  a 
zoologist,  he  was  nevertheless  constantly  pronouncing  moral  judg- 
ments and  expressing  indignation  at  wrong  and  sympathy  with 
the  distress  that  he  depicted.  In  his  famous  definition  of  art  he 
admits  this  personal  element  by  adding  to  the  statement  that 
"art  is  a  corner  of  nature"  the  significant  modifier,  "seen  through 
a  temperament".'^  Holz,  however,  while  starting  out  with  Zola's 
definition,  insisted  on  a  more  radical  elimination  of  the  per- 
sonality. "Die  Kunst"  he  said  "hat  die  Tendenz,  wieder  die 
Natur  zu  sein.  Sie  wird  sie  nach  Massgabe  ihrer  jeweiligen 
Reproductionsbedingungen  und  deren  Handhabung."^  And  not 
only  did  Holz  promulgate  this  theory  of  the  reproduction  of  an 
atomistic  and  mechanical  world  by  the  most  exact  scientific 
methods,  excluding  all  possibility  of  style  that  implies  selection 
and  rearrangement  of  details,  but  he  attempted  to  put  the  theory 
into  practice  in  the  series  of  sketches  called  Papa  Hamlet  and  a 
drama  Die  Familie  Selicke. 

It  was  this  theory  and  its  illustration  that  Arno  Holz  pre- 
sented to  Hauptmann  in  1889.  Up  to  this  time  the  creative  genius 
of  this  young  artist  had  been  groping  for  the  proper  form  of 


period.  Cf.,  for  example,  A.  Soergel's  Dichtung  und  Dichter  der  Zeit  (Leip- 
zig, 1911).  Buch  I.  An  excellent  summary  is  to  be  found  in  Ludwig 
Lewisohn's  introduction  to  The  Dramatic  Works  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann, 
Vol.  I,  pp.  ix-xxxvii. 

'  "Une  oeuvre  d'art  est  un  coin  de  la  creation,  vu  a  travers  un  tempera- 
ment." Proudbonet  Courbet  in  Mes  Haines — Causeries  htteraires  et  artisti- 
ques.    Paris,  1866  (New  Ed.  Paris,  1880,  p.  2.) 

'*  Arno  Holz — Die  Kunst,  ihr  Wescn  und  ihrc  Gcsctzc  (Berlin,  1891),  p. 
192. 


6      Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann 

expression.  The  artistic  impulses  which  had  been  evident  from 
his  childhood,  in  his  tendency  to  fanciful  dreaming,  in  his  pas- 
sionate love  for  music,  in  his  fondness  for  sketching  and  for 
writing  poems  and  fairy  tales,  had  led  him  first  to  the  study  of 
sculpture,  then  to  acting,  and  finally  to  serious  writing.  In  1885 
he  had  published  his  first  work,  the  formless  romantic  Byronic 
poem  Promethidenlos,  in  which  he  gave  expression  to  his  sympa- 
thy with  wretched  humanity  and  to  his  longing  for  the  light  of 
heavenly  beauty.  This  same  idea  was  the  basis  for  his  collection 
of  dreamy,  visionary  poems.  Das  Bunte  Buck  (1885).  "Wie 
eine  Windesharfe  sei  deine  Scele,  Dichter!  Der  leiseste  Hauch 
bewege  sie.  Und  ewig  miissen  die  Saiten  schwingen  im  Atem 
des  Weltwehs;  denn  das  Weltweh  ist  die  Wurzel  der  Himmels- 
sehnsucht.  Also  steht  deiner  Lieder  Wurzel  begriindet  im  Weh 
der  Erde;  doch  ihren  Scheitel  kronet  Himmelslicht." 

And  it  was  still  the  same  idea  that  found  expression  in  the 
short  story  Bahnwdrter  Thiel  (1887).  By  this  time,  however, 
his  study  of  the  natural  sciences  and  particularly  of  Darwin's 
teachings,  his  reading  of  Zola  and  his  contact  with  the  Berlin 
group  of  literary  critics  had  combined  to  turn  him  to  a  partial 
use  of  the  naturalistic  method.  Already  favorably  disposed  to 
naturalism,  then,  he  became  a  ready  convert  to  the  extreme  prin- 
ciples of  Amo  Holz,  who,  during  his  visit  in  Niederschonhausen, 
read  to  him  sketches  from  Papa  Hamlet,  depicting  without 
reserve  the  most  repulsive  features  of  poverty,  filth,  and  lewdness. 
The  significance  of  this  incident  in  Hauptmann's  literary  career 
is  proved  by  the  often  quoted  dedication  of  Vor  Sonnenaufgang, 
dated  July  8,  1889:  "Bjame  P.  Holmsen  dem  konsequentesten 
Realisten,  Verfasser  von  'Papa  Hamlet'  zugeeignet  in  freudiger 
Anerkennung  der  durch  sein  Buch  empfangenen  entscheidenden 
Anregung."  j 

Upon  the  foundation  of  Holz  and  Schlaf's  consistent  nat- 
uralism Hauptmann  developed  the  new  dramatic  form.  It  had, 
of  course,  to  modify  the  severity  of  Holz's  ruling  concerning 
the  absolute  elimination  of  selection  and  arrangement  of -detail, 
but,  as  Lewisohn  says,  "it  sought  to  rely  as  little  as  possible  upon 
the  traditional  devices  of  dramaturgic  technique.     There  was  to 


Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann      7 

be  no  implication  of  plot,  no  culmination  of  the  resulting  struggle  j—  (  ' 

in  effective  scenes,  no  superior  articulation  on  the  part  of  the  Oo« 
characters.  A  succession  of  simple  scenes  was  to  present  a  sec- 
tion of  life  without  rearrangement  or  heightening.  There  could 
be  no  artistic  beginning,  for  life  comes  shadowy  from  life;  there 
could  be  no  artistic  ending,  for  the  play  of  life  ends  only  in 
eternity.  .  .  .  Since  its  fables  are  to  arise  from  the  imme- 
diate data  of  life,  it  must  equally  emphasize  the  significant  factor 
of  those  common  things  amid  which  man  passes  his  struggles. 
And  so  the  naturalistic  drama  was  forced  to  introduce  elements 
of  narrative  and  exposition  usually  held  alien  to  the  genre. 
Briefly,  it  has  dealt  largely  and  powerfully  with  atmosphere, 
environment  and  gesture;  it  has  expended  the  stage  direction 
beyond  all  precedent  and  made  of  it  an  important  element  in 
dramatic  art."®  , 

Such,  in  general,  is  the  keynote  of  the  naturalistic  drama     QJUuoLitot  (MLu'i£J 
which  prevailed  for  a  period,  and  according  to  which  Hauptmann,     /{«>  (1  h^i   I  t^c 
in  addition  to  Vor  Sonnenaufgang  (1889),  wrote  Das  Friedens-'  a^d  u>x.(-u^feuo 
fest  (1890),  Einsame  Menschen  (1891),  Die  Weber  (1892),'    f^j^^tc^tLl. 
Kollege  Crampton  (1892),  Der  Biherpels  (1893). 

But  the  absolute  reign  of  this  dramatic  form,  as  is  well 
known,  was  short.  Dissatisfaction  with  the  limitations  of  nat- 
uralism expressed,  for  example,  in  such  an  article  as  that  by 
Dehmel  in  the  Munich  Gessellschaft  in  April,  1892,  represented 
a  feeling  that  was  becoming  general  throughout  Europe.  Encour- 
aged by  such  varying  influences  as  those  of  Brunetiere,  Nietzsche 
and  Anatole  France  a  new  period  of  idealism  developed,  mani- 
festing itself  in  various  forms.  Such  dramas  as  Ibsen's  The  Wild 
Duck,  The  Lady  from  the  Sea,  Ghosts,  and  When  We  Dead 
Awaken  call  to  mind  the  symbolistic  phase  of  the  movement,  while 
the  names  of  Maeterlinck,  Strindberg,  Rostand,  suggest  various 
types  of  romanticism  in  their  recourse  to  the  fantastic,  the  mystic, 
and  the  allegorical.  In  Germany,  Ludwig  Fulda's  symbolistic 
play  Der  Talismann  (1892)  ushered  in  the  new  movement. 

The  romantic  tendencies  of  Hauptmann  so  long  curbed  by 
the  rules  of  naturalism  quickly  responded  to  these  impulses.    Not 

•Lewisohn,  Dramatic  Works  of  Hauptmann,  I,  pp.  xvin,  xxv. 


8       Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann 


venturing  at  first  to  break  the  rules  which  he  had  set  for  him- 
self he  made  use  of  the  dream  technique  in  Hannele  (1893)  as 
a  device  for  presenting  idealistic  visions  in  poetic  form.  Then 
in  1896  appeared  the  frankly  romantic  play  Die  versunkene 
Glocke.  In  the  meantime  he  had  written  the  historical  drama 
Florian  Geyer  (1896)  and  Elga  (1896),  a  dramatization  of 
Grillparzer's  story  Das  Kloster  bei  Sendomir.  The  naturalistic 
influence,  however,  had  not  lost  its  power  over  the  dramatist, 
for  in  1898  appeared  the  naturalistic  play  Fuhrmann  Henschel, 
and  after  the  the  Shakespearean  imitation  Schluck  und  Jau 
(1900)  came  two  other  naturalistic  plays,  Michael  Kramer 
( 1900)  and  Der  rote  Hahn  ( 1901 ).  After  the  legendary,  poetic 
drama  Der  arme  Heinrich  (1902)  appeared  the  naturalistic  Rose 
Bernd  (1903)  and  the  symbolic  Pippa  Tanst  (1907).  The 
romantic  Die  Jung  fern  von  Bischofsberg  (1907),  the  two 
legendary  plays  Kaiser  Karls  Geisel  (1908)  and  Griselda  (1908) 
were  all  followed  by  the  naturalistic  plays  Die  Ratten  ( 191 1 )  and 
Gabriel  Schillings  Flucht  (1912).  The  series  closes  with  the 
pageant  Festspiel  (191 3)  and  the  legendary  drama  Der  Bog  en 
des  Odysseus  (1914). 

And  so  the  dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann,  ranging  from 
extreme  naturalism  to  naturalism  in  poetic  form  or  with  sym- 
bolic interpretation  and  finally  to  pure  romanticism,  represent  in 
their  entirety  the  changing,  uncertain  spirit  of  the  period.  Yet 
fairness  compels  one  to  admit  that  the  groping  is  chiefly  for  form 
of  expression.  Whether  through  "scientifically"  accurate  repro- 
duction of  the  world  as  it  is,  or  through  poetic  description  of  a 
realm  of  the  author's  own  creation,  there  is  evident  the  constant 
/  subjective  ideal  of  l^ettering  the  present  environment.  As  Haupt- 
mann himself  expresses  it,  it  is  the  longing  for  beauty  in  its  big- 
gest sense,  "das  Himmelslicht,"  for  himself  and  for  his  fellow- 
men  in  exchange  for  physical  and  spiritual  ugliness — "das  Weh 
der  Erde." 

It  may,  then,  be  a  worthy  subject  of  research  to  determine 
how  far  the  nature  element  in  the  dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann 
reflects  the  attempts  at  objective,  naturalistic  methods  on  one 
hand  and,  on  the  other  hand  a  tendency  to  pass  beyond  these 
limits  to  subjective  and  even  poetic  interpretation.       , 


CHAPTER  II. 

Hauptmann's  Acquaintance  With  Nature. 

An  investigation  of  the  nature  element  in  Hauptmann's 
dramas  suggests  preliminary  consideration  of  the  part  the  outdoor 
world  has  played  in  his  own  life. 

Both  chance  and  choice  have  combined  to  keep  Hauptmann 
in  contact  with  nature.  His  homeland,  Silesia,  is  a  country  of 
varied  scenic  interest.  Obersalzbrunn,  his  native  village,  .was  at 
the  time  of  his  birth  one  of  the  favorite  resorts  of  the  Riesen- 
gebirge.  The  large  inn,  *'Zur  preussischen  Krone",  owned  by 
Hauptmann's  father,  stood  on  a  beautiful,  green,  wooded  hillside 
surrounded  by  flower  gardens.  From  promenades  could  be  seen 
the  Hochwald  and  the  Sattlewald,  the  castle  of  Fiirstenstein  with 
its  spacious  gardens  and  parks,  and,  farther  in  the  distance,  the 
Eulengebirge  and  the  Zobten.  In  the  Riesengebirge  itself  great 
peaks  like  the  Schneekoppe  and  Brunberg,  deep  gorges,  numerous 
waterfalls,  dark  abysses  and  bright  valleys  unite  in  producing  a 
landscape  of  marked  Alpine  character.  The  mountains  are 
thickly  wooded.  Oak  and  beech  forests  at  the  foot,  silver  firs, 
pines,  and  beeches  on  the  slopes  give  beautiful  coloring  to  the 
mountains  in  the  various  seasons.  Toward  the  summit  itself  the 
underbrush  is  often  so  thick  as  to  form  almost  impenetrable 
walls,  while  the  peak  itself  is  in  some  places  a  bare,  rocky  surface 
and  in  others  a  meadowland. 

In  addition  to  mountain  scenery   Silesia  presents  various 

.  other  types  of  landscape.     Green  plateaus  and  the  rolling  or  hilly 

surface  of  the  coal  regions  extend  to  the  east  of  the  Oder,  while 

toward  the  north  and  northwest  lie  the  fertile  plains  of  Lower 

Silesia. 

The  beauties  of  this  country  were  not  lost  on  the  boy  Haupt- 
mann. Schlenther  tells,  for  example,  that  the  village  school- 
master took  his  boys  out  for  long  walks  through  meadow,  forest, 
and  field,  over  mountains  and  valley  calling  the  attention  of  the 
boys  to  the  songs  of  the  birds,  to  the  flowers  and  the  grains,  to 

(9) 


10    Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann 

the  insects  and  the  butterflies.^*'  When  the  zealous  teacher  tried 
to  make  use  of  such  opportunities  for  drill  in  Latin  forms,  Gerhart 
expressed  his  horror  that  such  intrusion  should  be  made  on  "God's 
free  nature", — an  incident  which  may  argue  as  much  for  his 
appreciation  of  the  beauties  of  the  country  as  for  his  antipathy 
to  Latin.  When  he  had  to  leave  his  home  to  attend  school  in 
Breslau,  "Der  kleine,  freie  Prinz  aus  dem  Quellenland"^^  felt 
as  if  he  were  shut  up  in  prison,  and  when  it  became  necessary 
to  leave  the  city  to  go  live  with  his  uncle  in  the  country  he  was 
the  only  one  who  was  pleased.  "Hinter  ihm  Staub  und  Stuben- 
dunst,  vor  ihm  Luft,  Licht,  Leben."^^  Here,  to  be  sure,  Haupt- 
mann experienced  a  less  delightful  association  with  nature.  "Das 
Werk  des  Landsmanns,  der  nachste  Verkehr  des  kultivierenden 
Menschen  mit  der  Natur  war  ihm  in  heisser  Arbeit  nahgetre- 
ten.-'^^  Evidence  that  it  was  none  the  less  valuable  can  be 
found  in  the  treatment  of  the  background  in  "Rose  Bemd".**  And 
years  afterward  he  himself  wrote  in  his  aunt's  album : 

"Ick  kam  vom  Pflug  der  Erde 
Zum  Plug  ins  weite  All — 
Und  vom  Gebriill  der  Herde  a 

Zum  Sang  der  Nachtigall."'^^ 

In  general  it  is  the  charm  of  the  Riesengebirge  that  has  brought 
Hauptmann  back  again  and  again  to  his  homeland.  For  years 
he  had  a  home  in  the  region,  first  at  Schreiberhau  and  later  in 
Agnetendorf  where,  in  full  view  of  the  Riesengebirge,  he  spent 
at  least  his  summers. 

In  addition,  Hauptmann  has  also  had  opportunity  to  view 
much  of  the  more  widely  famed  scenery  of  the  world.  In  1883 
he  took  his  first  Mediterranean  trip.  Sailing  from  Hamburg, 
he  followed  the  coast  to  Spain,  went  by  train  along  .the  Riviera 
to  Genoa,  sailing  from  there  for  Naples,  and  later  going  on  to 


"Paul  Schlenther — Gerhart  Hauptmann  (Berlin,  1912),  p.  6. 

"  Paul  Schlenther — Gerhart  Hauptmann,  p.  9.  ' 

"Paul  Schlenther — Gerhart  Hauptmann,  p.  11. 

*^  Paul  Schlenther — Gerhart  Hauptmann,  p.  15. 

"  Cf .  page  48. 

"  Paul  Schlenther — Gerhart  Hauptmann,  p.  15. 


Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann     1 1 

Rome.  Driven  home  by  illness,  he  returned  the  next  summer 
and  since  then  has  spent  many  winters  there.  It  was  on 
the  return  from  this  second  trip  that  he  stopped  at  Hohenhaus 
near  Zitzschewig  in  the  Lossnitz  valley.  Here  at  the  home  of 
Marie  Thienemann  he  enjoyed  the  splendid  old  garden  with  its 
linden  and  chestnut  trees.  In  1885  Hauptmann  and  his  wife 
went  to  Berlin  to  live,  but,  because  Hauptmann  could  not  endure 
the  city,  they  spent  the  summer  in  Riigen.  Later  he  went  with 
his  second  wife  for  several  summers  to  Hiddensoe,  an  island 
which,  as  Schlenther  puts  it,  "wie  ein  langer,  diirrer  Hecht  etwas 
gekriimmt  langs  der  Kiiste  sich  ins  Wasser  streckt".^®  When  in 
the  fall  of  the  year  1885  Hauptmann  moved  to  Erkner,  a  suburb 
of  Berlin,  he  lived  in  a  house  back  of  which,  as  his  friend 
Bolsche  says,  "sich  der  Wald  dehnte,  ab  tmd  zu  gebrochen  vom 
blanken  weissen  Spiegel  eines  flachen  Schilfsees,  zu  dem  der 
Ufersand  gelb  wie  Dukatengeld  nieder  quoll  und  aus  dessen 
Moorboden  die  Ruderstange  das  Sumpfgas  wie  Selterwasserper- 
len  stiess.  Wachholder  und  Heidelbeeren  und  diirres  Famkraut, 
Libellen  und  Schmetterlinge.  Ein  Spechtruf  und  sich  jagende 
Eichkatzchen.  Das  war  keine  berauschende  Landschaft,  die  man 
sehen  musste,  ehe  man  starb,  aber  immer  doch  eine  Land- 
shaft."^'^  Schlenther  speaks  of  Erkner  situated  by  the  lake  and  the 
pine  forests  as  "das  echte  markisch-melancholische  Idyll". ^^  This 
remained  Hauptmann's  home  for  four  years,  though  he  spent 
a  few  months  in  the  summer  of  1888  in  Zurich,  and  in  the 
fall  went  to  Frankfort  am  Main.  Toward  Christmas  he  moved 
to  Bergedorf  near  Hamburg  and  then  in  the  spring  of  1889  to 
Berlin.  Since  then  he  has  revisited  much  of  the  country  men- 
tioned. In  191 7  he  went  to  Greece.  Taking  the  steamer  in 
Triest,  he  sailed  along  the  Dalmatian  coast  to  Brindisi,  stopped 
for  some  time  in  Corfu  and  then  continued  on  his  way  to  Par- 
thos,  Olympia,  and  Athens.  This  trip  was  followed  immediately 
by  one  to  America. 


"  Paul  Schlenther — Gerhart  Hauptmann,  p.  222. 

"Kummer — Geschichte  der  deutschen  Literatur  (Dresden,  1909),  p.  628. 

"  Schlenther — Gerhart  Hauptmann,  p.  30. 


12     Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gcrhart  Hauptmann 

Evidence  of  Hauptmann's  susceptibility  to  the  various  types 
of  landscape  is  found  in  those  writings  which  give  best  oppor- 
tunity for  descriptions  of  nature.  The  little  collection  of  poems, 
Das  Bunte  Buck  ( 1888)  has,  like  Promethidenlos,  been  kept  from 
the  public.  Schlenther,  however,  to  whom  a  copy  was  entrusted, 
tells  us,  "Eindriicke  der  ausseren  Natur  finden  in  kurzen,  knap- 
pen,  oft  nur  gestammelten,  oft  nur  hingehauchten  Lauten  einen 
Widerhall  im  Gemiite  des  Dichters,  der  still  seufzend  beim  Blat- 
terfall  durch  die  Herbstnacht  wandelt  oder  in  Dammerlicht  des 
Fohrenwaldes  vor  einem  Jtinglingsgrabe  weilt,  Der  Dichter 
vertieft  sich  in  die  Stimmungen  der  Selbstmorder,  deren  Geister- 
chor  an  den  Grunenwald  gegen  die  nahe  Riesenstadt,  ihre  Verder- 
berin,  flucht.  Nacht,  Nebel,  Herbstwind,  ein  Schmetterling  im 
Schnee,  eine  singende  Lerche  im  Mondschein,  schwache  Hoff- 
nungen  auf  Licht  and  Lenz,  das  alles  will  zusammen  stimmen  in 
einen  einzigen  Sterbelaut."^® 

Again  the  finest  nuances  of  the  fir  forest  of  Brandenburg  in 
the  radiance  of  the  morning,  in  the  glow  of  the  setting  sun,  and 
the  subdued  light  of  the  moon  are  reflected  in  various  descriptive 
passages  of  Bahnwdrter  Thiel.^^^  Der  Apostel,  in  turn,  gives 
repeated  and  enthusiastic  expression  to  his  love  for  Swiss  scen- 
ery,^^  while  in  the  longer  novels  there  are  constant  allusions  to 
the  nature  background. 

But  the  most  convincing  evidence  of  a  genuine  delight  in  all 
phases  of  outdoor  nature  is  to  be  found  in  Griechischer  Fruh- 
ling.  Here  in  the  spontaneous  and  sincere  manner  of  a  diary 
Hauptmann  records  his  impressions  of  the  richness  of  southern 
color,  of  the  music  of  the  birds  and  the  breezes,  of  the  fragrance 
of  spring  flowers  and  newly  ploughed  fields,  of  the  beauty  of 
little  idyllic  valleys  and  wide  extended  plains,  of  fine  old 
gardens  and  groves,  and  of  splendid  Alplike  mountains.  Now 
he  responds  to  the  serious  mood  of  the  landscape,  now  to  its 
wild,  majestic  appeal,  and  again  and  again  he  delights  in  the 
air  of  fantasy  that  seems  to  hover  over  the  land. 

'*  Schlenther — Gerhart  Hauptmann,  p.  38. 

*"  Cf .,  for  example,  Gesammelte  Werke,  Bd.  5,  pp.  25,  29,  35,  42,  45. 

"  Cf.,  Gesammelte  Werke,  Bd.  5,  pp.  53  ff. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Dramas  With  Outdoor  Settings. 

The  dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann  have  been  divided  for 
the  purpose  of  this  investigation  into  the  following  groups: 

(i)  Dramas  in  which  at  least  one  act  has  an  outdoor  set- 
ting or  an  indoor  setting  that  affords  a  view  of  landscape. 

(2)  Dramas  with  indoor  settings,  which,  while  affording 
no  actual  view  of  landscape,  show  in  a  definite  manner  the  effect 
of  outdoor  conditions. 

(3)  Dramas  in  which  the  settings  ificlude  no  definite  out- 
door touch. 

To  the  first  group  belong :  ( i )  Vor  Sonnenaiifgang,  (2 ) 
Einsame  Menschen,.  (3)  Die  versimkene  Glocke,  (4)  Schluck 
und  Jau,  (5)  Der  arme  Heinrich,  (6)  Rose  Bernd,  (7)  Die 
Jung  fern  vom  Bischofsherg,  (8)  Kaiser  Karls  Geisel,  (9) 
Griselda,  (10)  Gabriel  Schillings  Flucht,  (11)  Der  Bogen  des 
Odysseus. 

The  second  division  includes :  ( i )  Das  Friedensfest, 
(2)  Die  Weber,  (3)  Der  Biberpelz,  (4)  Hannele,  (5)  Elga,  (6) 
Fuhrmann  Henschel,  (7)  Michael  Kramer,  (8)  Der  rote  Hahn, 
(9)  Und  Pippa  Tanzt,  (10)  Die  Ratten. 

For  the  third  group  remain  only  three  plays:  (i)  Kollege 
Crampton,  (2)  Florian  Geyer,  (3)  Das  Festspiel. 

A  detailed  study  will  be  made  of  the  nature  element  in  the 
background  of  each  play  of  the  first  and  second  groups  in  its 
chronological  order  and  of  the  relation  between  this  background 
and  the  action.  Concerning  the  technique  it  is  important  to 
determine  how  far  the  exact,  detailed  stage  direction  character- 
istic of  the  naturalistic  method  is  used,  and  how  far  the  broadly 
suggestive  direction  which  leaves  the  details  to  be  revealed  more 
or  less  vaguely  by  the  dialogue  or  to  be  supplied  by  the  producer. 
The  degree  of  subjectivity  revealed  in  the  description  will  also 
be  considered  with  the  object  of  determining  whether  it  is  a 
photographic  reproduction  lacking  all  personal  element,  as 
demanded  by  the  Holz  theory,  or  a  representation  of  a  piece  of 
nature  "seen  through  a  temperament,"  or  a  consciously  subjective 
interpretation  betrayed  by  direct  comment  upon  the  scene.    This 

(13) 


14    Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann 

will  involve  a  discussion  of  the  aesthetic  and  emotional  values 
and  the  relation  of  any  emotional  features  discovered  to  the 
action  or  situation  of  the  play.  Finally,  note  will  be  made  of 
changes  in  the  background  to  accompany  the  action  with  the 
purpose  of  determining  whether  they  are  realistic  changes  de- 
manded by  the  lapse  of  time  or  mere  artificial  changes  intro- 
duced for  dramatic  effect. 

Attention  will  also  be  paid  to  the  reaction  of  the  individuals 
to  the  nature  background.  This  is  expressed,  sometimes  in  a 
permanent  and  definite  influence  upon  the  whole  character,  or, 
more  often,  in  allusions  to  particular  phases  of  the  nature  set- 
ting as  a  means  of  supplementing  the  stage  directions,  of  indi- 
cating emotional  temperament  in  general  or  a  passing  mood  of 
the  individual,  or  it  may  give  expression  to  reflections  upon  the 
inner  meaning  of  nature. 

The  first  play  to  be  considered  is  Vor  Sonnenaufgang  in 
which  Acts  II  and  IV  present  outdoor  scenes.  In  this  drama 
written  under  the  direct  influence  of  Holz  is  to  be  found,  as 
might  be  expected,  the  closest  adherence  to  the  naturalistic  stage 
direction  which  leaves  no  details  to  be  added  by  the  persons  in 
the  play.  A  detailed  description  is  given  of  the  Krause  farm- 
yard in  Silesia.  The  exact  arrangement  of  all  the  buildings, 
the  garden,  the  arbor,  the  gateway  and  all  the  trees  is  prescribed 
in  a  diagram.  To  this  Hauptmann  adds  the  further  information 
that  it  is  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  and  that  a  pallid  grey 
light  is  coming  in  through  the  gateway.  Against  the  grey  sky 
one  sees  the  silhouette  of  Beipst  sitting  on  the  ground  sharp- 
ening his  scythe,  the  monotonous  sound  of  which  is  all  that  is 
heard  for  a  few  minutes.  When  this  stops,  there  follows  an 
interval  of  "solemn  morning  silence,"  which  is  soon  broken  by 
the  shouts  of  persons  leaving  the  inn,  the  barking  of  dogs  in 
the  distance,  and  a  loud,  confused  crowing  of  cocks. 

Certainly  in  relentlessly  realistic  detail  of  form,  color,  and 
sound  this  description  leaves  nothing  to  be  desired.  The  ques- 
tion of  the  subjectivity  disclosed  yields  interesting  results.  The 
first  part  of  the  description,  given  in  diagram  form,  is  necessarily 
objective  in  character.    The  phrase  "feierliche  Morgenstille"  in 


Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann     15 

the  additional  description  gives  the  only  suggestion  of  an  ex- 
pression of  interpretation  and  judgment.  The  purposed  effect 
of  the  background,  however,  and  its  relation  to  the  play  leave 
little  doubt  concerning  the  play  of  "temperament."  The  ugly 
details  depicted  in  the  gloomy  light  of  the  hour  before  sunrise 
combine  to  produce  a  picture  which  matches  in  its  sickly  grey- 
ness  the  moral  conditions  of  the  Krause  family  as  they  are  to 
be  revealed  in  the  act,  where  the  father  appears  as  a  drunken 
beast  and  the  stepmother  a  coarse  and  brutal  woman,  living  in 
adultery  with  the  man  who  is  to  marry  her  daughter. 

The  change,  indicated  by  stage  directions,  that  takes  place 
in  this  background  during  the  course  of  the  action  is  in  itself  a 
perfectly  realistic  one,  namely  the  gradual  change  from  the 
grey  light  of  dawn  into  a  deep  red  and  finally  into  the  full  light 
of  day.  It  is  used,  however,  in  a  way  that  indicates  a  conscious 
effort  to  produce  dramatic  effect.  At  the  moment  when  Loth, 
the  idealist  of  the  group,  giving  up  as  hopeless  his  attempt  to 
interest  old  Beipst  in  the  Utopian  aims  of  the  "Icarians"  in 
America,  looks  out  into  the  distance,  the  beauties  of  the  awaken 
ing  morning  become  visible.  Through  large  fields  of  clover  a 
brook  winds  its  course,  marked  by  alders  and  willows.  A  single 
mountain  peak  looms  on  the  horizon.  The  larks  appearing  on 
all  sides  begin  to  trill,  first  in  the  distance  and  then  in  the  yard 
itself.  No  one  speaks  during  this  interval,  until  Loth  rises  with 
the  remark  that  one  ought  to  go  walking  on  such  a  beautiful 
morning.  This  is  obviously  an  arrangement  of  the  scene  to 
emphasize  the  contrast  between  the  ugly  physical  details  of  the 
Krause  home  and  the  nature  scenes  beyond,  and,  further,  to 
symbolize  the  contrast  between  the  ugliness  of  the  Krause  stand- 
ards and  the  beauty  of  the  ideals  of  the  young  reformer  Loth. 

In  Act  IV  the  same  background  is  used  in  much  the  same 
way.  The  realistic  details  of  the  farmyard  scene,  including  the 
activity  of  the  farm  workers  are  carefully  depicted  in  the  accom- 
panying stage  directions. 22  The  love  scene  naturally  takes  place 
in  the  most  attractive  spot — the  arbor. 


Vor  Sonnenaufgang,  pp.  77,  78,  79. 


1 6     Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gcrhart  Hauptmann 

In  regard  to  the  second  phase  of  the  problem,  the  reaction 
of  the  characters  to  the  nature  background,  it  is  significant  that 
only  the  ideaHsts  of  the  group,  Loth  and  Helene,  express  a 
delight  in  the  beauties  of  nature  One  little  remark  in  Act  I 
betrays  Loth's  aesthetic  appreciation  of  landscape  in  general. 
In  telling  of  the  suicide  of  a  friend  he  mentions  that  it  hap- 
pened in  the  Grunewald  "an  sehr  schoner  Stelle  der  Havel- 
seeufer.  Ich  war  dort — ^man  hat  den  Blick  auf  Spandau!"^^ 
In  the  second  act  his  first  words  as  he  steps  out  of  the  door  are: 
*'H!  .  .  .  h!  .  .  .  Morgenluf t !" -^  In  this  exclamation,  along 
with  the  dreamy  contemplation  of  the  distant  scene  already  noted 
and  the  rather  gushing  remarks  about  the  beauty  and  the  freedom 
of  the  country,^"  Hauptmann  cleverly  reveals  the  temperament 
of  the  visionary  young  reformer.  And  a  subtle  indication  of 
similar  tendencies  in  Helene  is  given  in  her  love  for  nature. 
When  she  first. appears  in  Act  II  she  stops  to  gaze  silently  at 
the  distant  scene  in  which  Loth  had  delighted,  inhales  the  fra- 
grance of  the  herbs  hung  upon  the  fence  and,  bending  down  the 
bough  of  the  tree  before  her,  admires  the  low-hanging,  red- 
cheeked  apples.  ^^ 

While  Einsame  Menschen  has  an  indoor  setting,  the  garden 
and  lake  are  fully  visible  in  the  background.  The  detailed 
description  of  the  room  in  a  country  house  at  Friedrichshagen 
in  Berlin  includes  the  general  statement  that  two  bay  windows 
and  a  glass  door  in  the  rear  wall  afford  a  view  of  the  veranda, 
the  garden,  the  lake  which  joins  it,  and  the  Miiggel  hills  beyond. 
No  mention  is  made,  either  in  the  stage  directions  or  in  the  text, 
of  the  time  of  day  or  season  of  the  year.  In  the  second  act  the 
time  of  day,  the  season  of  the  year,  and  the  atmosphere  are 
more  sharply  defined  in  the  stage  directions.  In  Act  III  the 
time  of  day  is  given  in  the  directions,  but  the  condition  of  the 
weather  is  left  to  be  disclosed  in  the  dialogue.     In  the  fourth 


"  Vor  S onnenaufgang ,  p.  15. 
"  Vor  Sonneaufgang,  p.  42. 
"  Vor  Sonmnaufgang,  p.  49. 
"  Vor  S onnenaufgang,  p.  47. 


Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann     ly 

and  fifth  acts  merely  the  time  of  day  is  defined  in  the  directions 
at  the  beginning,  though  with  the  progress  of  the  acts  changes 
in  the  nature  of  background  are  definitely  stated  in  accompany- 
ing directions. 

In  none  of  the  stage  directions  is  there  any  subjective  com- 
ment upon  the  nature  element.  The  description  in  Act  I  is,  of 
course,  merely  broadly  suggestive  and  objective,  presenting  a 
scene  which  might  be  considered  to  have  aesthetic  value  only. 
But  with  the  progress  of  the  action  the  element  of  "tempera- 
ment" becomes  manifest,  for  in  each  case  the  background  is 
made  to  reflect  the  changing  moods  of  the  characters.  In  Act 
II  the  exuberance  of  Anna  Mahr  and  the  newly  awakened  spirit 
of  Johannes  Vockerat  as  a  result  of  the  new  companionship  find 
an  appropriate  background  in  the  bright  autumnal  tones  of  the 
scene,  which  are  emphasized  by  such  details  as  the  basket  of 
grapes  carried  by  Anna  and  the  cluster  of  brilliant  leaves  that 
she  wears  as  she  stands  looking  out  over  the  lake  into  the  dis- 
tance, while  men's  voices  sing: 

"Went  Gott  will  rechte  Gunst  erweisen, 
Den  Schick t  er  in  die  weite  Welt." 

That  it  is  the  waning  brilliancy  of  autumn,  however,  rather 
than  the  budding  brightness  of  spring  is  significant.  Frau 
Kathe's  expression  of  grief,  near  the  close  of  the  act,  over  the 
fact  that  the  new  friendship  between  her  husband  and  Anna 
Mahr  has  made  her  superfluous  is  a  preparation  for  the  gloom 
of  the  third  act  in  which  the  thick  fog  of  the  morning  robs  the 
scene  of  its  brilliancy,  substituting  the  dull,  grey  tones  of  tragedy. 
In  the  fourth  and  fifth  acts  the  lake  appears  in  the  subdued 
light  of  the  late  afternoon.  When  Vockerat  sinks  into  a  chair 
on  the  veranda  at  the  sound  of  the  whistle  of  the  train  that  is 
to  take  Anna  Mahr  away,  the  exaggerated  sentimental  pathos 
of  the  scene  is  enhanced  by  the  pale  moonlight  which  just  at 
that  moment  becomes  visible.-^     Then,  when  Johannes  is  about 


"  Einsatne  Menschen,  p.  237. 


1 8     Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann 

to  end  his  life  in  the  lake  that  has  been  his  confidant  in  both 
his  joys  and  his  sorrows,  wild  geese  fly  like  messengers  of  trag- 
edy over  the  water.^®  These  are  again  all  natural  phenomena 
which  are  arranged  with  the  definite  intention  of  heightening  the 
dramatic  effects. 

In  this  play  Hauptmann  skillfully  shows  the  different  sorts 
of  response  made  by  three  different  types  of  persons  to  the 
charm  of  the  Brandenburg  landscape.  Frau  Vockerat,  mother 
of  Johannes,  accustomed  to  the  green,  hilly  scenery  of  Silesia, 
cannot  enjoy  the  sandy  region,  though  she  naively  finds  the 
lake  itself  "wirklich  hiibsch,"  but  at  the  same  time  an  object  of 
dread  to  her  nervous,  motherly  soul.  "WundervoU"  ^®  is  the 
adjective  which  Johannes  uses  to  express  his  more  aesthetic  and 
more  emotional  appreciation  of  the  lake.  And  his  sensitive,  even 
morbid,  temperament  finds  a  sympathetic  note  in  the  melancholy 
idyll  of  the  Brandenburg  landscape.  His  longing  for  the  free- 
dom that  solitude  brings  is  revealed  in  the  remark:  "Mein 
Ideal  ist  ein  weiter  Park  mit  einer  hohen  Mauer  rings  herum. 
Da  kann  man  so  ganz  ungestort  seinen  Zielen  leben."  ^"  On 
the  other  hand,  Anna's  glowing  delight  in  the  frosty  beauty  of 
the  morning  ^^  is  expressive  not  only  of  her  momentary  exuber- 
ance in  the  joy  of  a  new  and  congenial  companionship  but  also 
of  the  general  vigor  and  buoyancy  of  her  nature. 

It  is  a  platitude  that  in  Die  versunkene  Glocke,  Hauptmann 
succumbs  entirely  to  his  romantic  tendencies.  The  problem  of 
the  play,  the  conflict  between  the  inevitable  conditions  of  en- 
vironment and  idealistic  aims,  is  the  same  modern  problem  as 
that  of  Einsame  Menschen  and  Gabriel  Schillings  Flucht,  but 
the  form  of  a  "deutsches  Marchendrama,"  in  which  it  is  pre- 
sented, allows  Hauptmann  to  use  all  the  imagination  that  is 
characteristic  of  the  writers  of  the  old  romantic  school  in  cre- 
ating a  Tieck-like  world  of  enchanted  woods  and  meadow 
peopled  with  elves  and  sprites. 


"*  Einsame  Menschen,  p.  289. 
*  Einsame  Menschen,  p.  205. 
'^Einsame  Menschen,  p.  209. 
**  Einsame  Menschen,  p.  214. 


Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann     19 

The  first  point  to  be  noticed  in  connection  with  the  nature 
technique  is  the  absence  of  a  definite  and  detailed  description  of 
the  landscape.  Prominent  as  the  nature  element  is  throughout 
the  scene,  the  stage  directions  simply  suggest  a  fir-clad  glade  in 
the  mountains,  a  hut  in  the  background  beneath  an  over-hanging 
rock,  and  an  old  well.  There  is  no  mention  of  the  time  of  day 
or  the  season  of  the  year,  but  just  as  in  a  Shakespearean  play, 
for  example,  it  is  necessary  to  turn  to  the  dialogue  for  further 
description.  Rautendelein's  words  to  the  bee  in  the  opening 
scene  hint  that  it  is  springtime: 

"Flieg  auf  den  Waldrain,  Bienchen,  iibern  Bach, 
dort  gibt  es  Krokus,  Veilchen,  Himmelschliissel :"  ^^ 

And  to  the  Nickelmann's  "Brekekekex"  she  replies: 

"Brekekekex,  jawohl, 
es  riecht  nach  Friihling,  und  das  wundert  dich. 
Das  weiss  der  letzte  Molch  im  Mauerloch, 
weiss  Laus  und  Maulwurf,  Bachforell'  und  Wachtel, 
Fischotter,  Massermaus  und  Flieg'  und  Halm, 
der  Bussard  in  der  Luf t,  der  Has'  im  Klee ! 
Wie  weisst  derm  du  es  nicht  ?"  *^ 

The  Waldschrat  confirms  all  this  with  his  remarks. 


"Hier  unten  riecht  es  warm,  bei  Euch  ist's  mollig. 
Bei  uns  dort  oben  pfeift  und  fegt  der  Wind."  ^* 


and 


"Gestern  ass  ich  den  ersten  Rapunzelsalat. 


"  35 


And,  finally,  from  Heinrich  one  gets  an  impression  of  the 
whole  effect  of  the  background  which  matches  in  its  wild  beauty 
and  its  fairy  fantasy  the  spirit  of  the  play: 

"Es  ist  hier  schon.     Es  rauscht  so  fremd  and  voll 
Der  Tannen  dunkle  Arme  regen  sich 


"  Die  wrsunkene  Glocke,  p.  257. 
"DiV  versunkene  Glocke,  p.  259. 
''*  Die  versunkene  Glocke,  p.  261. 
'^  Die  versunkene  Glocke,  p.  261. 


20    Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gcrhart  Hauptmann 

so  ratselhaft.     Sie  wiegen  ihre  Haupter 

so  feierlich.     Das  Marchen!  ja,  das  Marchen 

weht  durch  den  Wald.    Es  raunt,  es  fliistert  heimlich. 

Es  raschelt,  hebt  ein  Blattlein,  singt  durchs  Waldgras, 

und  sieh:  in  ziehend  neblichtem  Gewand, 

weiss  hergedehnt,  es  naht — es  streckt  den  Arm, 

mit  weissem  Finger  deutet  es  auf  mich — 

kommt  naher, — riihrt  mich  an  ...  .  mein  Ohr  ....  die 

Zunge .... 
die  Augen — nun  ist's  fort — und  du  hist  da. 
Du  bist  das  Marchen !"  ^^ 

In  such  a  world  as  this  it  is  to  be  expected  that  changes 
in  the  nature  setting  will  accompany  the  action.  First  to  be 
noted  are  phenomena  which  are  simply  the  normal  indications 
of  the  passing  of  time,  but  which  are  so  used  as  to  heighten  the 
dramatic  effect  at  particular  moments.  For  example,  the  Wald- 
schrat's  account. of  his  attack  upon  the  mortals,  in  which  he 
finally  sends  their  bell  over  the  cliff  to  be  lost  forever  in  the 
lake,  is  the  more  impressive  because  of  the  gradually  increasing 
darkness  of  evening.  And  there  are  other  changes,  more  arbi- 
trary, which  seem  like  more  definite  cases  of  "pathetic  fallacy." 
The  appearance  of  heavy  dark  purple  clouds  over  the  hills  and 
the  sudden  rising  of  the  wind  and  flashing  of  lightning  at  Hein- 
rich's  appearance  indicate  the  lively  resentment  of  nature  at 
the  intrusion  of  a  human  being  upon  the  fairy  ground. ^'^  When 
Heinrich  is  carried  away  again  the  restored  calm  of  the  land- 
scape is  revealed  in  the  bright  moonlight.^*  Again,  the  coming 
of  the  cruel  woodsprite  is  herald  by  lightning  and  distant  thunder 
which  increases  when  he  actually  appears.  When  he  makes  his 
threatening  speech  beginning: 

"Masslieb  und  Vergissnichtmein 
stampf  ich  in  den  Grund  hinein," 

and  at  the  end  of  which  He  carries  off  one  of  the  elves,  nature 


Die  versunkene  Glocke,  p.  269. 
Die  versunkene  Glocke,  p.  264. 
'Die  versunkene  Glocke,  p.  280. 


Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann     2 1 

shows  its  fury  in  a  raging  storm  of  hail  and  thunder,  which 
subsides  when  the  sprite  has  gone.^^ 

Act  II  offers  less  opportunity  for  nature  touches,  since  it 
takes  us  away  from  the  fairy  home  on  the  mountain  top  to  the 
house  of  Heinrich  in  a  village  of  the  valley.  The  stage  direc- 
tions indicate  simply  that  it  is  early  morning  and  that  the  light 
grows  brighter  as  the  action  advances.  As  in  Act  II,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  technique  of  the  romantic  drama,  we  get  most 
of  the  description  of  nature  from  the  characters  themselves. 
Heinrich's  wife,  Magda,  tells  of  the  fields  of  cowslips  beyond 
the  garden,^  ^  and  Rautendelein  says  as  she  opens  the  window 
in  Heinrich's  room: 

"Schon  ist's.    Doch  morgen  wird  as  windig  sein, 
Eine  lange  Wolke,  wie  ein  Riesenfisch 
Liegt  auf  den  Bergen;  morgen  birst  sie  auf, 
und  tolle  Geister  fahren  sausend  nieder, 
durch  Tannenwald  und  Kluft,  ins  Menschental. 
Kuckuck!  Kuckuck!  der  Kuckuck  ruft  auch  hier, 
und  Schwalbchen  schiessen,  schweifen  durch  die  Luft, 
durch  die  der  Tag  mit  Leuchten  kommt  gedrungen."  ^^ 

From  Heinrich  we  hear  that  the  nightingale  is  at  play  out- 
side his  window  and  that  sweet  scents  of  jasmine  and  elder 
blossoms  are  floating  in.'*^  These  are  all  details  which  are  sug- 
gestive of  the  sensual  element  of  the  scene. 

Ijn  Act  III  the  setting  is  again  the  mountain  top.  Through 
the  open  door  of  a  deserted  glassworks  can  be  seen  a  landscape 
of  peaks,  moors,  and  dense  fir  woods.  Here  again  the  directions 
are  broadly  suggestive  rather  than  definite  and  detailed.  Rau- 
tendelein tells  us  that  it  is  warm  and  sultry,^  ^  a  condition  which 
emphasizes  her  own  weariness  and  sadness.  Beyond  this  there 
is  no  definite  allusion  to  the  background. 


^*  Die  versunkene  Glocke,  p.  283. 
*"  Die  versunkene  Glocke,  p.  200. 
*^  Die  versunkene  Glocke,  p.  304. 
*^  Die  versunkene  Glocke,  p.  305. 
**  Die  versunkene  Glocke,  pp.  314,  316. 


2.2    Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann 

Act  IV  repeats  the  interior  scene  of  the  third  act.  No  men- 
tion is  made  in  the  stage  directions  of  the  time  of  day,  but  Hein- 
rich  says  that  it  is  the  sad  twihght  hour  and  that  the  setting 
sun  is  veiled  in  purple,^  ^  again  producing  an  effect  which  matches 
Heinrich's  mood  of  doubt  and  sense  of  approaching  disaster. 

In  Act  V  the  fir-clad  glade  of  the  first  act  again  appears. 
No  further  details  are  given  in  the  stage  direction  beyond  the 
fact  that  it  is  after  midnight.  An  elf  tells  that  the  wind  of 
sacrifice,  a  red,  red  wind,  is  blowing  from  all  the  mountain  tops 
into  the  valley,  that  dark  smoke  is  streaming  down  from  all  the 
mountain  peaks  into  the  glade  and  that  white  clouds  lie  thick 
in  the  valley.  This  forms  a  fitting  background  for  the  meeting 
of  the  elves  who  come  to  tell  of  their  grief  over  the  death  of 
Balder.**  Changes  necessitated  by  the  passing  of  time  as  well 
as  by  dramatic  requirements  are  recorded.  As  the  elves  disap- 
pear a  fog  drifts  over  the  glade.^^  Dawn  is  heralded  by  the 
crowing  of  a  cock,*^  but  the  moon  still  shines  to  add  pathos  to 
the  picture  as  Rautendelein,  weary  and  sad,  sits  upon  the  edge 
of  the  well,  combing  her  long,  flowing  locks.  Then  as  Heinrich 
in  his  death  struggle  finally  clasps  his  ideal,  crying  "Die  Sonne — 
Sonne  kommt!"  the  red  glow  of  the  morning  appears  in  the 
sky,  and  the  dawn  breaks.  Thus  natural  phenomena  which  have 
been  intimately  associated  throughout  the  play  with  the  moods 
and  actions  of  the  various  characters  also  produce  the  final  cli- 
mactic effect. 

Certain  forces  of  nature  which  are  a  part  of  the  fairy 
mountain  top,  the  nature  background  of  the  play,  are  visualized 
by  Hauptmann  in  the  characters  of  Rautendelein,  Wittichen, 
Wickelmann,  the  Waldschrat,  and  the  elves.  So  much  has  been 
written  concerning  them  and  Heinrich  himself  that  it  is  neces- 
sary here  simply  to  repeat  that  Hauptmann  has  made  use,  not 
only  of  his  own  rich  imagination,  but  also  of  Germanic  folklore 


**Die  versunkene  Glocke,  p.  334. 
*^  Die  versunkene  Glocke,  p.  353. 
**  Die  versunkene  Glocke,  p.  .^58. 
*'  Die  versunkene  Glocke,  p.  365. 


Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann     23 

and  of  dramatic  forerunners  in  presenting  an  interpretation  of 
nature  that  is  throughout  romantic  and  symboHc.^^ 

The  Shakespearean  influence  which  is  generally  conceded 
to  be  evident  in  the  comedy  Schluck  und  Jau  shows  its  first  trace 
in  that  play  in  the  use  of  a  prologue  which  gives  the  setting  of 
the  piece  in  poetic  style.  The  hunt,  the  joy  of  the  season,  is 
over.  The  dogs  are  back  in  the  kennels,  and  the  animals  that 
the  huntsmen  have  slain  hang  corded  in  the  cellars. 

"und  morgen  mit  dem  Friihsten  wird  dies  Haus 
von  Gasten  leer.     Dann  wird's  verlassen  liegen 
und  seine  roten  Turmchen  einsam  heben 
iiber  das  Wipfelmeer,  das  endlos  weite; 
und  diese  Raume  werden  nichts  vernehmen, 
als  Waldesrauschen — nachts  des  Uhus  Wimmem — 
den  Schrei  des  Bussards  und  das  Fliigelklatschen 
der  Tauben  unsres  alten  Kastellans. — "  ^® 

As  a  last  bit  of  joy,  therefore,  before  the  party  separates, 
the  curtain  is  to  disclose  a  piece  which  is  no  more  than  "einer 
unbesorgten  Laune  Kind." 

The  first  scene  of  the  play,  accordingly,  presents  a  level, 
green  space  in  the  forest,  through  the  high  iron  gateway  of 
which  the  courtyard  is  visible.  The  radiant  sun  of  an  autumn 
morning  that  one  might  expect  to  find  mentioned  has  been  omit- 
ted from  the  description,  and  no  definite  locality  is  indicated  by 
anything  but  the  Silesian  dialect  of  Schluck  and  Jau.  The  stage 
directions  are  hardly  more  definite  than  those  of  a  Shakespearean 
play.  From  Jon  Rand  we  incidentally  learn  more  of  the  beauties 
of  the  place,  as  he  remonstrates  with  Schluck  and  Jau: 

"miisst  ihr  denn 
zu  meinen  Tulpenbeeten  schleppen  euem  Rausch 


*  For  interpretation  of  the  symbolism  and  for  discussion  of  the  sources, 
cf.  especially 

H.  Ramiew — Die  Symbolik  in  Gerhart  Hauptmanns  Mdrchendrama  Die 
versunkem  Glocke  (Mainz,  1897). 

M.  Schneidewin — Das  R'dtsel  des  G.  Hauptmannschen  Mdrchendramas 
Die  versunkene  Glocke  (Leipzig,  1897). 

Martin  Schiitze — Hauptmanns  Die  versunkene  Glocke — Americana  Ger- 
manica,  Til  (1899),  pp.  60-95. 

*•  Schluck  und  Jau,  p.  13. 


24    Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann 

und  cure  wusten,  vollen  Leiber  werfen 

in  Sidselills  Garten,  die  so  lieblich  bliihn?"^** 

Toward  the  end  of  the  scene  Jon  tells  of  the  bracing  air 
of  the  beautiful  autumn  morning  and  of  the  music  of  the  herds' 
bells  in  the  fields. ^^  The  second  and  third  scenes  are  interiors. 
Sidselill's  room  in  the  third  scene  has  a  door  opening  upon  a 
terrace,  which,  however,  is  not  described  and  which  is  included 
less  for  aesthetic  reasons  than  for  the  practical  one  of  providing 
a  place  where  Jau,  in  the  new  role  of  prince,  may  try  his  skill 
at  mounting  a  horse.  Another  terrace  is  visible  from  the  ban- 
queting hall  in  Scene  IV.  Again,  the  fifth  scene  in  the  castle 
park  is  not  described,  but  is  given  a  pleasing  touch  bj-  the  men- 
tion of  the  fine  old  nut  trees.  In  the  sixth  scene  the  green  lawn 
in  front  of  the  castle  gate  that  appeared  in  Scene  I  reveals  Schluck 
and  Jau,  now  the  same  poor  wretches  they  were  in  Scene  I 
before  the  trick  was  played  upon  them.  It  is  possible  that  the 
old  beech  tree  half  stripped  of  its  leaves,  under  which  Jau 
sleeps  in  the  half  moonlight,  is  meant  to  add  a  touch  of  that 
humor  mixed  with  pathos  that  is  noted  in  the  fate  of  the  poor 
wretch.  But  on  the  whole  this  piece,  avowedly  light  in  char- 
acter, containing  no  element  of  great  emotion  or  even  change 
of  mood,  presents  only  the  most  general  suggestions  concern- 
ing the  nature  background,  and  these  indicate  no  change  of  tone. 

The  character  in  the  play  who  is  most  responsive  to  the 
autumnal  brightness  of  the  setting  is  Jon  Rand.  Both  the  vigor 
of  the  huntsman-prince  and  the  fantasy  of  the  moon-gazing 
dreamer,  who  speaks  of  love  and  writes  songs,  find  their  reflec- 
tion in  his  nature  feeling: 

"Verschlaf'ne  Walder!  bald  erweck  ich  euch 
mit  klaren  Homesruf.     Und  deinen  Trank, 
harzduf tiger  Morgen,  spiir  ich  schon  im  Blut: 
der  taglich — meinem  grauen  Haar  zum  Trotz — 
mit  Jugend  mich  erfiillt.     In  jedem  Morgen 


■*  Schluck  und  Jau,  p.  19. 
"  Schluck  und  Jau,  p.  24. 
**  Schluck  und  Jau,  p.  109. 


Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann     25 

ist  Jugend;  und  in  seine  jungen  Stunden 
drangt  sich  der  Nachklang  jeder  seligen  Zeit 
ans  neue  Hoffnungsgliick:   und  eng  verschwistert 
zu  einem  triumphierenden  Hall  des  Lebens, 
singt,  was  da  war — und  ist — und  sein  wird,  Karl, 
in  uns  und  um  uns  her  und  zu  uns  wieder, 
im  Echo.     Meinst  du  nicht?"^^ 

Again  the  merry  exuberance  of  autunwi  and  the  sober  quiet 
of  winter  make  equal  appeal  to  this  two-fold  personality : 

"Schwingt  Eure  Beine,  tanzt!  Es  tanzt  sich  gut 
libers  braungold'ne  Fliess  gefall'ner  Blatter, 
das  unser  alter  Nussbaum  abgelegt. 
Wirbelt  den  Kehraus!     Most  und  Wein  herbei! 
Herbstf riichte !  jeder  nehme,  was  er  mag 
von  den  gehauften  Schalen.     Bunte  Ranken 
der  wilden  Rebe  kranzt  um  Eure  Schlafe! 
Bacchantisch  sei  die  Lust,  die  bald  erstirbt. 
Der  hermelingeschmiickte  Totengraber 
steht  vor  der  Tiir:  ein  weisses  Leichenhemde 
bereit  in  seiner  Hand.     Er  sei  willkommen. 
wenn  diese  letzte  Sommerlust  verrauscht! 
Ja,  mich  verlangt  nach  seinem  weissen  Kleide. — 
In  diesem  Meer  von  Faschingstollheit  schwimmend — 
und  zwar  mit  Lust,  Karl — drangt  doch  meine  Brust 
dem  Ufer  zu,  der  tiefen  Winterruh."  ^^ 

Though  Hauptmann  calls  his  metrical  drama  Der  arme/ 
Heinrich  a  German  legend  in  five  acts,  he  keeps  fairly  close  to 
the  naturalistic  technique  in  his  careful  portrayal  of  the  back- 
ground. In  Act  I  the  scene,  as  described  in  the  stage  directions, 
is  the  little  garden  about  the  house  of  the  farmer  Gottfried  in 
the  region  of  the  Black  Forest.  From  a  fine  old  elm,  beneath 
which  stand  a  stone  table  and  a  bench  of  turf,  one  looks  out 
upon  great  green  plateaus.  Harvested  fields  are  seen  in  the 
foreground  and  a  line  of  wooded  hills  against  the  horizon.  Iso- 
lated groups  of  fir  trees  are  scattered  here  and  there.  While 
the  season  of  the  year  is  suggested  by  the  harvested  fields,  the 


**  Schluck  und  Jau,  p.  85. 


26     Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann 

fact  that  it  is  a  clear,  cold  morning  is  left  for  the  dialogue.^* 
There  is  also  no  mention  in  the  stage  directions  of  the  "Erlen- 
weg"  referred  to  in  the  text.^^ 

While  there  is  no  evidence  of  subjective  comment  in  this 
description,  there  is  also  no  trace  of  the  impressionism  that 
merely  recounts  single,  uncoordinated  details.  The  composition 
of  the  picture  with  its  distinct  centre  of  interest,  its  strong  fore- 
ground, and  its  interesting  background  indicates  definite  artistic 
intent.  The  evident  purpose  is  to  present  the  beauty  of  a  country 
scene,  the  peacefulness  of  which  is  contrasted  with  the  hopeless 
unrest  of  Heinrich,  who  knows  himself  to  be  a  victim  of  leprosy. 
There  is  no  attempt  throughout  the  act  to  depict  any  changes 
in  this  background  to  accompany  the  action. 

The  stage  directions  of  Act  III  present  a  rocky  wilderness, 
mighty  firs,  and  trees  with  autumn  foliage.  In  the  background 
beyond  a  stretch  of  level  ground  is  a  cave,  at  the  entrance  to 
which  lie  withered  leaves,  cooking  utensils,  an  axe,  and  a  cross- 
bow. It  is  a  'fall  evening.  This  picture,  perhaps  even  more 
than  the  preceding  one,  is  decidedly  artistic  in  conception  and 
effect.  The  mighty  firs,  themselves  expressive  of  splendid  isola- 
tion, the  other  trees  suggestive  in  their  foliage  of  the  sadness 
of  autumn,  encompassing  the  lonely  cave  to  which  one's  eye  is 
directed  over  the  stretch  of  level  earth,  present,  especially  in  the 
autumn  twilight,  a  scene  which  is  most  expressive  of  loneliness. 
And  this  forms  a  fitting  background  for  Heinrich,  who,  wild, 
ragged,  and  unkempt,  is  digging  a  pit  for  his  own  grave.  There 
are  no  changes  in  the  background  during  the  act. 

Act  IV  takes  place  within  Benedict's  chapel  in  the  forest. 
A  suggestive  little  touch  of  autumn  is  found  in  the  wreath  of 
leaves  upon  the  altar  and  the  crucifix.  The  gathering  darkness 
adds  solemnity  to  the  scene  in  which  Ottegebe  dedicates  herself 
to  the  service  of  Christ. 

In  Act  V  the  joyousness  that  comes  from  Heinrich's  mirac- 
ulous recovery  from  leprosy  through  the  victory  over  himself 


^  Der  arme  Heinrich,  p.  272. 
"  Der  arme  Heinrich,  p.  271. 


Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann    27 

and  the  consequent  release  of  Ottegebe  from  her  sacrifice,  and 
the  vigor  of  the  new  life  in  store  for  both  of  them  are  antici- 
pated in  the  stage  directions  by  the  radiance  of  the  spring  morn- 
ing that  fills  the  richly  adorned  hall  of  the  castle  of  Aue. 

The  attitude  of  Heinrich  toward  the  nature  background  is 
distinctly  subjective.  In  the  beginning  of  the  play  the  landscape 
before  Gottfried's  house  speaks  to  him  of  the  peace  and  resigna- 
tion for  which,  in  his  physical  torment,  he  passionately  longs: 

"Noch  ganz  in  Blattern  steht  die  Ulme,  und 
gleich  wie  aus  Erz  erhebt  sie  regungslos 
sich  in  des  klaren  Morgens  kalte  Luft: 
des  nahen  Frostes  scharfer  Silberhauch, 
vielleicht  schon  morgen,  macht  sie  nackt  und  bloss — : 
sie  regt  sich  nicht! — Ringsum  ist  gottergeben 
worauf  das  Auge  fallt,  nur  nicht  der  Mensch, 
nur  ich  nicht — Friede!  kehre  her  zu  mir!"^® 

The  calm  of  nature  in  contrast  with  the  tumult  of  his  own 
mind  is  again  expressed  in  the  following  lines: 

"Hier  ist  es  still, 
doch  in  der  Stille  wird  mein  Inneres  laut, 
und  wahrend  draussen  iiber  Moor  and  Wiesen 
der  Mond  sein  totes  Licht  ergiesst  und  etwa 
am  Feldrain  eine  Grille  mit  ihm  wacht, 
gibt's  ein  Getose  hier  in  meinem  Haupt 
von  Reigentanzen,  ritterlichen  Spielen, 
Schlachtrufen,  fremden  Sprachen,  Fliisterstimmen, 
die  ich  nicht  kann  beschwichtigen."  ^'^ 

Heinrich's  susceptibility,  under  happier  conditions,  to  the 
voluptuous  charm  of  lavish  color,  delicate  fragrance,  and  soft 
sounds  in  southern  lands  finds  expression  in  the  glowing  lines 
that  follow: 

"Vor  zween  Jahren — Kind — 
lag  dieser  arme  Gast,  den  du  hier  siehst 
am  mag'ren  Ranft  hausback'nen  Brotes  zehrend, 
in  Marmorhallen,  wo  die  Brunnen  klangen, 


"  Der  arme  Heinrich,  p.  272. 
"^  Der  arme  Heinrich,  p.  273. 


28     Nature  Background  in  Dram<is  of  Gcrlmrt  Hauptmann 

wo  goldene  Fische  in  den  Becken  flossen, 

und  wenn  er  schweifen  liess  den  trunk'nen  Blick, 

so  war's  dorthin,  woher  der  Weihrauch  quoll, 

war's  in  die  Zaubergarten  Azzahras. 

O,  liebes  Kind,  von  solchen  Paradiesen 

hast  du  wohl  nie  getraunit !  wo  siiss  und  schwer 

Pracht  auf  uns  lastet,  Wonne  uns  berriickt    .     .    . 

der  Bambus  zittert  am  verschwiegenen  Platz, 

von  Zedem  liberdacht  und  iiberdunkelt, 

die  Azaleenbiische  breiten  sich 

wie  bliihende  Kissen.     Blaues  Bliitenblut 

scheint  dir  das  Meer,     .     .     . 

.     .     .     Und  du  horst 

Gesang    .     .     . 

.     .     .     fremde  Worte, 

in  heisser  Flut  der  Seele  aufgelost, 

umwehen  dich.     Du  trinkst  sie  in  dich  ein 

mit  alien  Diiften,  die  der  sanfte  West 

dir  zutragt,  immer  liebreich  dich  bedrangend. — "  ^* 

And  the  new  joy  he  feels  in  the  radiance  of  Ottegebe's 
glance,  which  brings  a  healthy  stirring  in  his  sluggish  blood  and 
new  strength  of  re-arisen  powers,  he  reads  also  in  nature  about 
him: 

"Und  in  der  Flut  des  lichten  Elements 
entziindeten  die  Hiigel  sich  zur  Freude, 
die  Meere  zur  Wonne  und  die  Himmelsweiten 
zum  Gliicke  wiederum."  ^^ 

In  Hartmann's  account  of  his  trip  through  the  snow  to  the 
house  of  Gottfried  appear  the  healthy  vigor  that  finds  joy  in 
the  struggle  with  the  wind  and  snow,  and  at  the  same  time  a 
happy  element  of  fantasy: 

"Auf  dem  Klepper 
sinnierend  hangen  in  der  Winterstille 
und  langsam  aufwarts  dringen  ins  Gebirg 
durch  Wettertannicht,  hoch  verschneit  und  dick 
beschwert  and  iiberglast  die  Aste,  wo 
es  je  zuweilen  sprode  klirrt  und  klingelt 

"Der  arme  Heinrich,  p.  281. 
**  Der  arme  Heinrich,  p.  363. 


Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gcrhart  Hauptmann     29 

und  sonst  kein  Laut  sich  riihrt,  ist  meine  Lust. 
Und  sind  die  kleinen  Voglein  auch  verstummt: 
es  zwitschert  unterm  Rosseshuf  der  Schnee 
bei  jedem  Tritt,  so  dass  ich  lausch  und  spitze 
und  horch  und  mich  versinn  und  fast  verliere, 
wie  Petrus  Forschegrund,  als  ihm  das  Voglein 
des  Paradieses  sang  und  tausend  Jahre 
gleichen  einer  fliichtigen  Stunde  ihm  verrannen."®") 

In  Rose  Bernd,  Act  I,  Hauptmann  uses  all  the  minuteness 
of  detail  that  belongs  to  naturalistic  technique  in  the  description 
of  a  level,  fertile  landscape.  On  each  side  of  a  path  leading 
diagonally  from  the  middle  of  the  scene  to  the  foreground  extend 
large  fields,  through  which  runs  a  shallow  ditch  covered  with 
field  flowers.  A  small  potato  patch  in  which  the  young  vines 
are  just  breaking  through  the  earth  lies  in  the  immediate  fore- 
ground. To  the  left  of  the  path  on  a  slope  about  six  feet  high 
stands  an  old  cherry  tree,  and  to  the  right  hazel  nuts  and  white- 
thorn bushes.  The  course  of  a  brook  running  parallel  to  the 
path  is  outlined  by  willows  and  elders.  Isolated  groups  of  old 
trees  add  a  parklike  appearance  to  the  landscape.  In  the  back- 
ground to  the  left  rising  above  bushes  and  treetops  appear  the 
roof  and  the  steeple  of  a  village  church. 

One  of  the  chief  features  of  this  picture  is  the  effective 
use  of  the  proper  notes  of  emphasis.  Hauptmann  has  avoided 
the  monotony  of  what  he  designates  as  a  level  landscape  by 
introducing  the  vertical  element  of  trees  in  a  regular  succession 
which  produces  rhythm  in  the  landscape  —  first  the  old 
cherry  tree  on  the  left,  balanced  by  the  hazelnut  and  white- 
thorn bushes,  then,  farther  back,  the  willows  and  alders  which 
mark  the  course  of  the  brook,  and  still  farther  in  the  back- 
ground the  trees  and  bushes  surrounding  the  church.  Altogether 
it  furnishes  an  excellent  example  of  naturalistic  description  that 
presents  not  merely  a  catalogue  of  the  various  details  of  the 
landscape  but  rather  an  arrangement  of  many  details  into  a 
whole  composition  which,  without  the  use  of  any  subjective  com- 
ment,  except   perhaps   the   one   phrase   "parklike   appearance," 

'"Der  arme  Heinrich,  p.  294.  , 


30     Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann 

carries  to  the  reader  or  spectator  a  definite  message  of  the  beauty 
and  radiance  of  the  landscape,  brightened  as  it  is  by  the  warm 
sun  of  a  May  morning.  This  does  not  change  during  the  act. 
And  the  sunny  brightness  of  the  picture  blends  well  with  the 
spirit  of  the  peasant  girl,  Rose  Bernd,  who  sits  upon  the  bank 
beneath  the  cherry  tree,  laughing  with  her  secret  lover,  Flamm, 
over  their  stolen  meeting,  while  he  in  turn  sings  loudly  and 

lustily: 

"Im  Wald  und  auf  der  Heide 
Da  such  ich  meine  Freude! 
Ich  bin  ein  Jagersmann !"  ®^ 

That  Flamm  does  actually  seek  much  of  his  pleasure  in  hunt- 
ing is  indicated  by  many  details  in  the  minutely  described  living 
room  of  the  house  in  Act  11.  Here,  for  example,  are  various 
glass  cases  containing  stuffed  birds  and  collections  of  butterflies. 
A  love  for  flowers,  too,  on  the  part  of  some  one  is  suggested  by 
a  large  bowl  of  forget-me-nots  on  the  desk,  by  the  wreath  of 
fresh  flowers  about  the  photograph  of  a  little  boy,  and  also  by 
the  pots  of  blooming  plants  in  the  windows  that  are  open  to 
admit  the  sunlight  of  a  magnificent  spring  morning.  The  sunny 
brightness  of  the  picture  reflects  the  cheer  in  the  simple  home 
of  the  Flamms  before  the  shadows  of  unhappiness  fall  upon  it. 

Act  III  has  a  fertile  stretch  of  land  as  a  background,  depicted 
in  the  same  detailed  manner  as  that  of  the  first  act.  In  the  right 
foreground  in  a  triangular  level  green  space  slightly  below  the 
level  of  the  surrounding  fields  stands  an  old  pear  tree.  At  its 
foot  a  clear  spring  empties  into  a  primitive  stone  basin.  The 
middle  ground  consists  of  meadow  land.  In  the  background, 
within  a  grove  of  alder  trees  and  bushes  of  hazelnut,  willow  and 
beech,  lies  a  pool  bordered  by  reeds  and  dotted  by  waterplants. 
The  meadows  on  each  side  are  encircled  by  ancient  oaks,  elms, 
beeches  and  birch  trees.  Through  the  foliage  of  the  trees  and 
bushes  the  roofs  and  spires  of  distant  villages  are  visible.  To  the 
left  behind  the  bushes  arise  the  thatched  roofs  of  the  barns.  It 
is  a  hot  afternoon  in  early  August. 


Rose  Bernd,  p.  377. 


Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann     31 

This  picture  furnishes  another  example  of  the  evident  use 
of  recognized  principles  of  composition  in  landscape  painting. 
The  importance  of  the  foreground  is  expressed  by  the  detail ;  the 
middle  distance,  the  meadow  land,  is  less  distinct;  the  elevation 
produced  by  the  trees  in  the  distance  forms  the  necessary  back- 
ground. Another  noteworthy  feature  is  the  sense  of  balance, 
here  so  strong  as  to  produce  almost  a  somnolent  effect.  The 
scene  therefore  lends  itself  well  to  the  mood  which  Hauptmann 
manifestly  wishes  to  express.  The  intense  heat  of  the  August 
afternoon,  the  hum  of  a  threshing  machine  in  the  distance,  the 
expression  of  exhaustion  in  the  faces  of  the  workingmen,  who, 
returning  from  the  fields,  hurry  to  the  spring  where  sounds  of 
swallowing  and  of  deep,  relieved '  breathing  are  clearly  audible, 
all  produce  an  effect  of  oppression  and  tenseness  as  different  from 
the  fresh  vigor  of  the  springtime  scene  of  Act  I  as  the  fore- 
boding distress  of  Rose  Bernd,  about  whom  the  chains  of  fate 
are  now  being  more  tightly  drawn,  is  different  from  the  happy, 
laughing  mood  of  the  girl  in  the  opening  scene. 

Act  IV  repeats  the  interior  scene  of  Act  III  with  merely 
the  change  of  time  from  spring  to  fall  which  is  demanded  by  the 
development  of  the  plot.  In  Act  V  the  gloomy  dusk  that  fills 
the  room  in  the  Bernd  cottage  increases  the  tragic  effect  of  the 
scene  in  which  Rose  Bernd,  finally  hunted  down  by  her  pursuers, 
confesses  that  she  is  the  murderer  of  her  child. 

In  this  play  there  is  little  direct  expression  on  the  part  of  the 
individuals  concerning  their  reaction  to  the  beauty  of  the  country 
in  which  they  live.  Nor  would  one  expect  to  hear  from  these 
peasants  any  but  the  naive  and  casual  remarks  usually  made  in 
connection  with  some  other  matter.  Streckmann,  for  example, 
makes  the  beautiful  weather  an  excuse  for  refusing  to  stay  in 
church.^2  Various  references  are  made  to  the  extreme  heat  in 
Act  III.^^  Old  Bernd,  desiring  to  preach  a  little  sermon  on  the 
need  of  preparing  for  the  darkness  of  the  judgment  day,^^  in  Act 
V,  calls  attention  to  the  great  cloud  that  has  come  over  the  moun- 

'^Rose  Bernd,  p.  382. 
•*  Rose  Bernd,  p.  408. 
"*  Rose  Bernd,  p.  450. 


32     Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gcrhart  Hauptmann 

tain.  But  the  real  reaction  is  found  in  what  is  essentially  an  em- 
bodiment of  the  outdoor  world  expressed  in  the  whole  personality 
of  Rose  Bernd  and  Christopher  Flamm.  Rose  is  the  strong 
peasant  girl;  in  the  first  scene  she  hoes  the  patch  as  vigorously 
as  a  man,  and  she  lifts  a  sack  of  wheat  with  ease  and  carries  it 
to  the  barn.  "Das  Madel  hat  Saft  und  Kraft  dohie."**^  The 
natural  mate  for  her  is  "der  kernige,  frische  lebenslustige 
breitschultrige  imponierende  Mann,  durchaus  Natur  und  jauch- 
zende  Bejahung  des  Lebenstriebs/'  and  the  tragedy  is  due  in  the 
first  instance  to  the  fate  that  insists  upon  Rose's  marrying  the 
physically  inferior  August.^^ 

The  midsummer  night's  dream  idea  that  Hauptmann  con- 
ceived in  connection  with  Hohenhaus  takes  the  form  of  a  fall 
idyll  in  Die  Jungfern  vom  Bischofsberg.  The  first  three  acts 
take  place  within  an  old-fashioned  country  house  situated  amid 
gardens  on  the  river  Saale.  In  the  first  act  the  towers  and  roofs 
of  an  ancient  city  situated  on  the  opposite  slope  of  a  hill  are 
visible  through  a  broad  window.  The  room  depicted  in  Acts 
II  and  III  has  a  glass  door  which  opens  upon  a  terrace  in  the 
garden.  Act  I  defines  the  time  as  toward  noon  of  a  day  in  the 
beginning  of  October.  No  definite  statement  as  to  whether  the 
sun  is  shining  or  not  is  given  either  in  the  stage  directions  or  in 
the  dialogue.  The  stage  directions  of  Act  II  state  that  it  is  fore- 
noon as  in  the  previous  act  and  that  the  sun  is  shining  in  at 
the  windows.  In  Act  III,  which  takes  place  the  next  afternoon, 
no  mention  is  made  of  the  light. 

The  stage  directions  of  Act  IV  describe  in  full  the  park  of 
the  Bishop's  Mount  on  the  slope  above  the  vineyard.  The  valley 
of  the  Saale  River  lies  in  the  background  with  Naumburg  visible 
in  the  distance.  To  the  left  are  the  ruins  of  an  old  watch  tower, 
to  the  right,  an  old  cistern.  The  foreground  toward  the  cistern 
is  enclosed  by  an  old,  crumbled  wall,  above  which  the  poles  of 
the  vines  are  seen.  To  the  left,  somewhat  elevated  and  accessible 
by  steps,  is  a  small  hermitage  with  a  bell-tower  of  unhewn  logs. 
In  the  centre  is  a  large  grass  plot  surrounded  by  bushes,  from 


Rose  Bernd,  p.  412. 
'Rose  Bernd,  p.  377. 


Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann     33 

which  there  is  a  view  to  the  horizon  over  the  valley  and  the  hills 
on  the  opposite  side.  Bright  autumnal  coloring,  occasional  re- 
ports of  a  pistol,  the  cries  of  the  vintners  and  the  sound  of  the 
whetting  of  scythes  are  all  suggestive  of  the  season  of  the  year. 
In  addition  to  this  the  time  is  definitely  stated  as  near  noon  of 
a  clear  autumn  day. 

Here  the  details  of  form,  atmosphere,  color,  and  sound  are 
given  in  a  stage  direction  which  is  quite  as  minute  as  that  of  the 
naturalistic  plays  Vor  Sonnenaufgang  or  Rose  Bernd.  Again 
there  is  no  subjective  comment  upon  the  scene,  but  again  there 
is  much  more  than  a  mere  catalogue  of  details.  Again  the  artistic 
temperament  is  displayed  in  the  composition  of  the  picture.  A 
sense  of  depth  is  produced  by  the  proper  arrangement  of  dis- 
tances: first  the  foreground;  then  the  stone  wall;  then,  in  the 
middle  distance,  the  vineyard;  and  finally  the  elevation  of  the 
hills  for  the  background.  The  picture  as  a  whole,  like  an  old 
tapestry,  is  full  of  interest,  with  a  single  spot,  the  greensward, 
where  the  eye  can  rest.  The  message  of  the  play,  that  the  dream 
of  life  is  its  best  part,  is  subtly  suggested  in  the  lovely,  but 
passing,  autumn  beauty  of  the  secluded  old  garden,  where,  as 
Kozakiewicz  says,  an  anachronistic  sweetness  is  present  in  the 
air, — something  still  and  unspoiled  and  magic  that  is  separated 
by  the  moss-covered  stones  of  the  wall  from  the  shrill  noise  of 
the  paroxysm  of  European  culture.®^  There  is  no  reference  to 
any  change  in  the  background  during  the  scene. 

In  Act  V  the  setting  sun  and  later  the  moon  lend  a  still 
softer  touch  to  the  scene  which  is  in  harmony  with  the  romantic 
conclusion  of  the  play. 

The  two  persons  in  the  play  who  are  most  responsive  to 
the  atmosphere  of  the  romantic  old  garden  are  Dr.  Griinwald 
and  Dr.  Kozakiewicz.  The  latter's  question,  "Hast  du  denn 
wieder  im  Heidekraut  gelegen  und  Verse  gemacht?"^^  gives  a 
little  suggestion  of  the  sentimental  temperament  of  Dr.  Griin- 
wald. The  extreme  to  which  he  can  go  in  sentimental  utterance 
is  illustrated  by  his  outburst  of  joy  when  he  realizes  that  Agatha 


*''  Die  Jung  fern  vom  Bischofsherg,  p.  68. 
**  Die  Jungfern  vom  Bischofsherg,  p.  49. 


34    Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann 

still  loves  him:  "Oh,  Liebste,  das  ist  solch  eine  Last  von  Gliick! 
Verzeih  mir:  mich  widerts'  wenn  Manner  weinen!  doch  ich 
vveine!  Mir  schwindelt;  ich  fasse  es  nicht!  ,  .  .  O  tiefe, 
schmerzliche  Bangigkeit!  Oh  Angst!  Oh  du  Angst  des  hochsten 
Besitzes ! — Ewig !  Ewig ! — Oh  Ewigkeit !"  ^^ 

Quite  in  keeping,  then,  with  this  sentimentality  is  Griin- 
wald's  extravagant  praise  of  nature  and  his  interpretation  of 
its  beauties  as  but  an  offering  to  his  loved  one:  "Wie  stark  auf 
einmal  der  Thymian  duftet!  .  .  .  Oh  kostliche,  siisse, 
berauschende  Wiirze !  Sieh  mal,  wie  eine  gliihende  Raucherschale 
der  Mond!  Betaubende,  kostliche  Dampfe  wirbeln  herauf!  Sieh 
mal,  wie  unten  die  Saale  fliesst.  Schlangelnder  Nebel  wie  Op- 
ferdampf !  Und  die  alte  gespenstische  Stadt  und  der  Dom.  Du 
Nixe!  Du  Mondfrau!  Du  Saaleweibchen !  es  ist  alles  ringsum  nur 
ein  Opfer  fiir  dich,  Und  ich  bin  dir  auf  Leben  und  Tod  ver- 
faUen."  ^« 

When  in  the' closing  scene  of  the  play  Sabine  remarks  that 
soon  everything  will  have  vanished — "Von  den  Baumen  ist  schon 
das  Laub  fast  herunter,  und  verodet  steht  unser  Bi- 
schofsberg.  Dann  ist  er  nur  noch  ein  Marchen,  sonst  nichts." 
Ludowike  replies  "Das  Marchen  ist  doch  das  beste,  Sabine!" 
and  Kozakiewicz  adds:  "So  lasst  uns  den  Reigen  weiter  taiizen 
ins  Blaue,  ins  Dunkle,  ins  Weite  hinein,  ins  Ungewisse  der  Hini- 
mel  und  Meere,"  and  the  scene  closes  with  the  singing  of  Heine's 
song: 

"Kleiner  Vogel  Kolibri, 
FUhre  uns  fiach  Bimini,    .    .    ."  '^^ 

And  thus  the  people  in  the  play  finally  express  the  symbolism 
ot  nature  upon  which  the  whole  play  rests. 

The  setting  of  the  first  act  of  Kaiser  Karls  Geisel  is  an 
interior  scene  at  the  hour  before  sunrise  on  a  day  in  the  "month 
of  wine."  The  stage  directions  of  Act  II  sketch  with  a  few  but 
definite  strokes  an  outdoor  scene  at  the  country  seat  of  the 
Emperor  Karl  in  the  neighborhood  of  Aix-la-Chapelle.     From 

"Die  Jungfem  vom  Bischofsberg,  p.  91. 
""^  Die  Jungfem  vom  Bischofsberg,  p.  ge. 
"  Die  Jungfem  vom  Bischofsberg,  p.  991 


Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann     35 

an  open  colonnade  broad  stairs  lead  down  to  the  garden,  where 
the  ancient  hills  are  brilliant  with  the  yellow  of  the  autumnal 
foliage.  The  background  of  the  scene  is  formed  by  a  sunny 
slope  planted  with  vines.  It  is  a  clear  morning  in  autumn.  No 
further  details  are  added  by  the  characters. 

Once  more  the  method  is  objective,  but  the  result  is  a  picture 
which,  first  of  all,  appeals  to  the  aesthetic  sense,  and  secondly, 
in  its  message  of  autumnal  radiance,  is  suggestive  of  the  proud 
vigor  of  the  Emperor,  rejuvenated  by  his  love  for  the  young 
Gersuind.  Acts  III  and  IV  have  indoor  settings.  In  Act  III 
a  door  leads  into  the  garden,  but  this  is  not  described.  Nor  is 
there  any  mention  of  the  light.  In  Act  IV  the  warm  autumnal 
sun  shines  through  the  loggia  of  the  cloister  upon  the  sick  girl 
Gersuind  as  she  reclines  in  her  armchair.  There  are  no  refer- 
ances  to  changes  in  the  background  during  the  scenes. 

Nature  has  a  second  use  in  this  drama  in  furnishing  an 
interpretation  of  the  character  of  Gersuind.  Various  characters 
reveal  their  opinion  of  her,  favorable  or  unfavorable,  by  figures 
drawn  from  nature.     The  unfriendly  Ercambald  maintains : 

"sie  ist 
das,  was    .    .    .    ja,  etwas,  was  man  so    .    .    .    nun  ja: 
kein  guter  Apf el !  eher  was  man  so 
wurmstichig    .    .     .    Obst,  das  man  wurmstichig  nennt,"'^* 

Bennit,  on  the  other  hand,  says : 

"Sie  ist  ein  Pyrol !  ist 
kein  Rabe !  dient  dem  Rabengotte  nicht. 
Was  Wunder,  wenn  si^  mit  den  Fliigeln  schlagt, 
da  sie  schuldlos  im  engen  Kafig  schmachtet. 
Sie  spiirt  die  Buchenwipfel !  spiirt  den  Wald, 
den  goldnen  Himmelshirsch,  mit  klingenden 
Geweihen  morgens  schreitend  durch  den  Hag. 
Sie  will  zu  mir!  will  heim!  will  ihre  Briider 
und  Spiessgesellen  wiedersehn.     Will  vom 
Gehoft,  geklammert  auf  der  Stute  Riicken, 
hinbrausen  durch  die  Niederung  zur  Jagd : 
fliegenden  Haars,  in  reiner  Gottesluft! 
dann  wieder  halten  wir  die  heiligen  Tage 


"  Kaiser  Karls  Geisel,  p.  260. 


36     Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann 

und  Karl  und  Jesu,  glaubt  mir,  sind  wir  treu. 
Ihr  aber :  zahmt  ein  Tier,  ihr  Frauen,  das, 
geboren  in  Gefangenschaft,  nichts  kennt 
als  Knechtschaf t !  Freigebornes  zahmt  sich  nicht!"'^^ 

Karl's  first  remark  upon  seeing  her  is : 

"Rein  wie  der  Mond,  das  Antlitz  einer  Heiligen."^* 

and 

".     .     .     .     Frei  soil  sie  sein ! 
den  Kafig  will  ich  offnen.     Off'n  ich  ihn, 
ein  Taubenhabicht  stosst  vielleicht  herab 
und  schlagt  sie — also  dies  darf  nicht  geschehn!"^^ 

And  when  Gersuind  herself  asks  for  freedom  to  live  as  she 
pleases,  undisturbed  by  others,  Karl  answers : 

"Die  Luft  ist  voll  Gefahren.     Fliegt  ein  Ding, 
ein  gelber  Buttervogel,  so  wie  du, 
nur  einmal,  zweimal  iiber  eine  Pfiitze — 
und  nun  gar  hier  zu  Aachen,  in  der  Pfalz ! — 
schon  hat  ein  Rotschwanz,  Blauschwanz  ihn  verschluckt."'* 

When  Karl  asks  Rorico,  after  she  has  escaped, 

"Wie  lebt  sie  ?  wo  ? 
Gerupft?  zerzaust?  wie?  eingeschiichtert P"''^ 

Rorico  explains  how  she  pursued  him 

"leichtfiissiger  als  ein  Schmaltier  vor  der  Meute, 
flink,  unbegreiflich,  federleicht  im  Lauf. — "''^ 

and  how  she  laughed  at  him, 

"sie  schlug  eine  wilde  Lache  auf, 
durchdringend,  wie  ein  Specht  lacht."'^® 


"  Kaiser  Karls  Geisel,  p.  266. 
'*  Kaiser  Karls  Geisel,  p.  268. 
"  Kaiser  Karls  Geisel,  p.  271. 
"  Kaiser  Karls  Geisel,  p.  275, 
"  Kaiser  Karls  Geisel,  p.  284. 
"  Kaiser  Karls  Geisel,  p.  287. 
"  Kaiser  Karls  Geisel,  p.  288. 


Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann     37 

Then  Karl  upbraids  Rorico : 

".     .     .     Vogelsteller !  gab 
ich  deshalb  diesem  Vogelchen  die  Freihei't, 
damit  dein  Bolz  ein  flaumig  Bette  trifft?"^*' 

When  Gersuind  herself  appears  before  Karl  he  begs  her  to  remain 
in  the  castle  under  his  care: 

"In  diesem  Garten  sollst  du  wurzeln,  du 

Entwurzelte!  sollst  langsam  wachsen,  bliihn, 

Friichte  zur  Reife  treiben,  wohlgepflegt 

von  Gartnerhanden  ;"®^ 

and  again : 

"Eile!  deine  Seele 
entsiihne,  bade  sie  von  Flecken  rein ! 
denn,  warst  du  gleich  mit  Makeln  iibersat 
so  will  ich  eines  Tags  doch  zu  dir  sagen — 
wenn  du  dich  meinem  reinen  Willen  f iigst — : 
geh'  hin  und  zeige  dich  den  Priestem !  und 
an  jenem  Tag  sollst  du  vor  aller  Welt 
rein  wie  die  keusche  Himmelsblume,  wie 
die  Lilie  in  Mariens  Handen  sein."^^ 

To  Alcuin,  who  is  also  favorably  impressed  by  her,  Karl  confides : 

"Mein  Flaccus!  manches  Tierlien  fing  ick  schon, 
mit  Hamen,  Bolz  und  Netz, 
wie  du  wohl  weisst : 

doch  ging  mir  noch  kein  Wild  ins  Garn  wie  dieses ! 
und  darum  heg'  ich's,  pfleg'  ich's,  halt'  ich's  wert. 
Natiirlich :  's  ist  kein  Tier !  und  also  auch 
ein  hoherer  Beruf,  den  ich  erfiille, 
als  der  des  Bandigers :  fast  vaterlich, 
im  Sinne  der  Seelsorge  frommer  Vater."^^ 

The  persistent  use  of  such  figures  to  describe  Gersuind  emphasizes 
not  only  the  fact  that  she  is  a  wild  child  of  nature  herself,  but 
also  the  effect  of  environment  upon  those  who  use  the  figures. 
This  in  turn  is  carried  out  logically  in  the  description  of  Karl. 

^"Kaiser  Karls  Geisel,  p.  289. 
"  Kaiser  Karls  Geisel,  p.  296. 
"  Kaiser  Karls  Geisel,  p.  297. 
"  Kaiser  Karls  Geisel,  p.  310. 


38    Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann 

In  Act  II  the  stage  directions  describe  Karl  as  he  steps  forward 
from  the  leafy  garden  paths,  clothed  in  country  garb,  with  the 
words:  "Er  hat  etwas  an  sich  von  einem  grossen  und  edlen 
Wild,  das  sichert."^*  He  likens  the  re-awakening  of  his  nature 
to  new  sap  in  an  old  tree : 

"ein  alter  Baum  seit  langem  diirr  und  von 
Schmarotzerpflanzen  ausgesogen,  denen 
er  noch  den  trock  'nen  Stamm  als  Stiitze  leiht, 
damit  sie,  wie  bisher,  aufrecht  ins  Licht 
der  Sonne  geilen,  ist  er  selbst  gleich  tot     .     .     . 
ein  solcher  Stamm  f angt  an  f  risch  auszuschlagen ! 
da  gibt's  ein  Wispem  in  den  Blatterchen 
des  Schlingkrautnetzes :  ei  der  alte  Karl, 
der  alte  Obstbaum  will  noch  leben  !"^^ 

It  is  characteristic  of  his  huntsman  temperament  to  seek  solace  in 
time  of  depression  in  playing  with  the  dogs  or  feeding  the  deer 
or  catching  lizards,**  and  so  when  he  knows  he  has  overcome  his 
passion  for  Gersuind  he  rejoices  in  the  prospect  of  another  hunt 
in  the  fresh,  invigorating  air : 

"Die  Luft  ist  neu,  die  Brust  befreit !  wir  haben 
urireine  Geister  langer  nicht  zu  Gast! 
Des  Weines  Blume  macht  uns  fiirderhin 
nicht  widerlich  der  Atem  der  Verwesung. 
Rico!  die  Klepper!  Habichte;  erst  lasst 
uns  schmausen,  unsere  Frankenbauche  stopfen, 
wacker,  wie  Drescher,  mit  gesunder  Kost!"*^ 

And  with  his  final  triumph  over  himself  he  cries : 

".     .     .     der  Greis  sehnt  sich  ins  freie  Feld! 
ins  Blachfeld !  unter  f  reien  Himmel !  wo 
der  Wolkenauf ruhr  iiber  ihm,  der  Aufruhr 
des  Kriegszugs  um  ihn  her  die  Welt  erfullt. 
Auf  seines  Streithengsts  Riicken  sehnt  er  sich 
und  nachts  zu  ruhn  im  sausenden  Gezelte! 
und  kurz,  der  alte  Kriegsknecht :  Kaiser  Karl ! 


**  Kaiser  Karls  Geisel,  p.  270. 
•'  Kaiser  Karls  Geisel,  p.  303. 
**  Kaiser  Karls  Geisel,  p.  277. 
*'  Kaiser  Karls  Geisel,  p.  325. 


Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann    39 

schreit,  wie  ein  Hirsch  nach  Wasser,  nach  den  Sturmen, 

darin  er  frisch  geatmet  lebenslang: 

nach  Waflfenlarm !  nach  Mannerkampf!  nach  Krieg!"®* 

The  mediaeval  legend  of  the  patient  Griselda  has  received 
some  pleasing  outdoor  settings  in  the  ten  scenes  of  Hauptmann's 
piece  called  Griselda.  The  yard  of  farmer  Helmrecht  that  forms 
the  background  for  the  first,  third,  and  ninth  scenes  is  minutely 
described  in  the  stage  directions  according  to  the  naturalistic 
method.  The  house,  divided  into  stable  and  dwelling,  stands  to 
the  left.  Opposite  is  a  stall  with  a  woodshed.  The  yard  is 
separated  from  the  road  in  the  background  by  a  picket  fence,  the 
gate  of  which  is  open.  Near  it  is  a  woodpile.  Over  the  gate 
curves  a  beautiful  apple  tree  loaded  with  red  apples.  The  back- 
ground is  formed  by  mountain  meadows,  forests,  and  a  chain 
of  hills  lightly  streaked  with  snow.  Not  far  from  the  door 
of  the  house  water  from  a  spring  splashes  into  a  stone  trough. 
The  sunlight  of  an  autumn  morning  shines  upon  the  scene.  There 
is  no  evidence  of  consciously  expressed  subjectivity,  but  the  effect 
as  a  whole  reveals  the  interpretation  of  an  artistic  temperament. 
The  eye  is  taken  from  the  homely  details  of  the  farmyard  to  the 
beautiful  apple  tree  and  then  to  the  trees  and  mountains  beyond. 
No  changes  are  recorded  during  the  scene. 

The  settings  of  the  remaining  scenes  are  for  the  most  part 
simply  suggested  in  the  most  general  manner.  In  the  second 
scene  a  window  in  the  gallery  of  the  Marquis  affords  a  view  of 
a  North  Italian  lake  and  its  shore,  but  no  description  is  given 
of  it.  The  fourth  scene  presents  the  garden  of  the  Margrave's 
palace  with  an  adjoining  terrace,  on  a  magnificent  day  in  autumn, 
as  an  appropriate  background  for  the  wedding  of  Griselda  and 
Ulrich.  In  the  fifth  scene  the  fact  is  mentioned  that  the  North 
Italian  spring  has  come.  The  stage  directions  for  the  fifth  scene 
tell  that  Griselda  is  sitting  by  the  window  of  the  palace,  looking 
out  into  the  open,  but  no  description  is  given  of  the  view  before 
her.     In  scenes  7  and  8  is  shown  a  room  with  a  door  opening 


*•  Kaiser  Karls  Geisel,  p.  351. 


40    Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann 

on  the  garden.  Scene  lo  presents  a  hall  in  the  Margrave's  castle, 
with  a  glass  door  opening  on  the  park.  In  general,  then,  there  is 
little  indication  in  Griselda  of  an  attempt  to  do  more  with  the 
nature  background  than  give  the  piece  an  aesthetic  setting.  No 
changes  of  tone  are  to  be  noted. 

In  this  play,  as  in  Rose  Bernd  and  Kaiser  Karls  Geisel, 
Hauptmann  presents  individuals  who  are  directly  and  vitally 
influenced  by  their  contact  with  nature.  Griselda  is  a  real  child 
of  nature,  and  her  counterpart  is  Markgraf  Ulrich,  the  genuine 
"Naturmensch"  to  whom  all  culture  and  refinement  are  dis- 
tasteful. Ulrich  does  not  care  for  the  food  prepared  by  the 
cooks  but  roasts  chestnuts  for  himself.  When  the  nights  are 
mild  he  sleeps  in  the  forest  or  in  a  barn.  When  summoned  to 
the  family  council  he  appears  in  the  garb  of  a  peasant  with  a 
pitchfork  on  his  shoulder.  He  announces  that  he  would  not 
return  to  the  city  for  the  kerchiefs  and  garters  of  the  twelve 
fairest  ladies  in  Lombardy,  and  if  he  must  marry,  his  wife  must 
be  a  peasant  girl,  a  wench  who  can  endure  a  sound  thrashing. ^^ 
It  is  natural  then  that  he  should  be  attracted  by  Griselda,  the 
"cow  princess"  as  he  calls  her,  the  "lovely  lass  of  the  rye",  with 
the  Valkyrie-like  figure,  so  strong  that  she  is  her  father's  best 
help  with  the  heavy  farm  work,  and  so  beautiful  that  even 
Count  Eberhard,  who  had  scorned  the  thought  of  her  as  a  wife 
for  Ulrich,  can  not  keep  his  eyes  from  her  as  she  stands  among 
the  branches  of  the  apple  tree.^^  It  is  natural  too  that  Ulrich 
should  at  once  long  to  make  this  splendid  coimterpart  of  his  own 
strength  yield  to  him.  He  is  the  old  Adam,  he  explains  to  his 
uncle,®^  and  nothing  less  than  the  old  nobility  of  Eve  can  satisfy 
him.  He  desires  a  strong  companion  with  her  original  weapons, 
the  sickle,  the  spade,  and  the  mattock.  At  the  wedding  Ulrich 
devises  the  test  of  the  grains  and  the  scythe  to  prove  that,  gentle 
and  sweet  as  Griselda  has  been  made  by  her  love  for  him,  she 
is  still  possessed  of  this  ancient  nobility.     That  she  does  not  lose 


**  Griselda,  pp.  362  flf. 
*•  Griselda,  pp.  355  ff . 
•*  For  the  following,  cf  Griselda,  pp.  380  ff. 


Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann     41 

her  interest  in  the  old  home  even  after  a  long  period  of  luxurious 
life  as  a  margravine  is  shown  in  the  scene  of  the  visit  from  her 
father.®^  Again  in  her  wish  that  she  might  bear  her  child  in 
the  forest  upon  a  couch  of  leaves  rather  than  in  the  castle,^^  her 
primitive  nature  asserts  itself.  And  all  the  original  defiance  of 
the  former  peasant  girl  returns  when  she  discovers  that  Ulrich, 
with  the  mad  instinct,  as  she  says,  of  the  wild  boars  who  devour 
their  young,  has  had  their  newly  born  child  hidden  away  from 
her.94 

In  Gabriel  Schillings  Flucht  the  nature  background  is  per- 
haps more  inseparably  linked  with  the  action  than  in  any  other 
play.  Schlenther  says  that,  as  the  problems  of  Johannes  Vockerat 
in  Einsame  Menschen  return  in  more  intense  form  in  the  case 
of  Gabriel  Schilling,  so  the  little  island  lake  of  the  former  play 
expands  into  the  open  sea  in  Gabriel  Schillings  Flucht.  But 
while  in  Einsame  Menschen  the  lake  was  used  chiefly  for  aesthetic 
and  emotional  effects,  in  Gabriel  Schillings  Flucht  the  cleansing 
and  invigorating  salt  sea  becomes  the  symbol  of  the  idea  on 
which  the  whole  play  is  based. 

The  scene  of  action  is  an  island  in  the  Baltic.  This  is,  in  the 
first  place,  significant  as  the  spot  to  which  the  individuals  have 
been  driven  by  their  own  nervous  temperaments  that  demand 
relief  from  the  tension  of  city  life.  The  stage  directions,  though 
rather  long,  fail  to  include  many  definite  details  of  the  real 
nature  element.  They  state  that  the  scene  is  the  shore  of  the 
island,  that  it  is  a  clear  August  day,  and  that  the  sea  in  the 
background  gleams  in  the  afternoon  light.  Other  features  men- 
tioned are  suggestive  of  the  darker  and  wilder  aspects  of  the 
sea.  To  the  left  is  a  signal  pole  with  rope  ladders,  and  to 
the  right  the  shed  of  a  life-saving  station.  To  the  wall  of  this 
building  is  fastened  a  figurehead  from  a  wrecked  vessel.  It  is 
of  painted  wood  and  represents  a  woman  with  wind-blown  gar- 
ments.    Her  head  is  thrown  back  so  that  she  seems  to  oppose 


**  Griselda,  pp.  391  ff. 
*  Griselda,  pp.  394  ff. 
**  Griselda,  pp.  401  ff. 


42     Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann 

her  pale  face  with  its  somnambulistic  stare  to  the  winds  of 
heaven.  The  effect  of  the  scene  in  detail  and  as  a  whole  is 
brought  out  largely  by  the  characters  themselves.  First,  the 
season  of  the  year,  already  suggested  in  the  stage  directions,  is 
emphasized  by  Kiihn's  greeting  to  Lucy  in  the  opening  of  the 
act :  "Sie  kommen  immer,  wenn  die  Zugvogel  abreisen !  Wenn 
die  vielen  Zugvogel  bei  uns  Station  machen,  kommen  Sie 
auch."*^  Another  reference  to  the  birds  is  made  by  Maurer : 
"Hast  du  die  tausend  und  abertausend  Stare  und  Schwalben  auf 
den  Strohmiitzen  der  Fischerkaten  druben  in  Vitte  gesehn  ?  Diese 
Aufregung,  dieser  Eifer,  diese  entziickende  Reiselust  !"^®  While 
in  Vor  Sonnenaufgang,  Rose  Bernd,  and  Die  Jungfern  vom 
Bischofsherg  nature  sounds  are  described  in  the  stage  directions, 
in  this  play  there  is  no  mention  of  the  roaring  thunder  of  the 
ocean  until  it  is  referred  to  by  Maurer.*"^  A  device  similar  to 
that  of  the  silent  scene  noted  in  Vor  Sonnenaufgang  Act  P*  is 
used  when  Maurer  and  Schilling  become  absorbed  in  contem- 
plation of  the  sea  and  the  blood-red  glow  of  the  evening  sky. 
The  latter  is  the  only  change  noted  in  the  background  during 
the  act  and  is  of  course  to  be  included  among  those  demanded 
by  the  passing  of  time.  It  may  also  be  interpreted  symbolically, 
as  in  Vor  Sonnenaufgang.  Act  II  plays  in  a  room  of  the  island 
inn.  The  only  suggestion  of  the  outdoor  surroundings  is  the 
stuffed  seamew. 

Act  III  presents  again  a  picture  of  the  shore  described  in 
somewhat  more  detail  than  in  Act  I.  Between  two  sand  dunes 
a  broad  path  extends  toward  the  background,  disappyearing  among 
the  sand  hills.  In  the  angle  formed  by  the  more  distant  hills  the 
sea  appears  like  a  deep  blue  wall.  Above  it  is  the  deeper  blue 
of  the  cloudless  sky.  In  the  foreground  to  the  right  of  the  path 
and  slightly  raised  lies  a  graveyard ;  a  part  of  the  low  wall  which 
encloses  it  is  visible  and  above  this  wall  is  the  little  old  house 


••  Gabriel  Schillings  Flucht,  p.  171. 
••  Gabriel  Schillings  Flucht,  p.  176. 
"  Gabriel  Schillings  Flucht,  p.  174. 
"  Cf .  page  34. 


Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann    43 

for  the  dead  covered  with  shingles.  With  the  exception  of  a 
windblown  juniper  bush  beside  the  wall  there  is  no  vegetation. 
Near  the  bush  is  an  old  weatherbeaten  bench.  To  the  left  of 
the  path  stands  an  old  monastery  which  is  almost  in  ruins  except 
for  an  arch  of  brownish  red  brickwork.  Behind  the  ruins  rise 
several  ancient  poplars  and  ash  trees. 

Here  Hauptmann  has  achieved  the  desired  effect  by  a  monot- 
ony of  color  and  contour.  The  cold  blue  of  the  sea  and  the  sky, 
the  gray  of  the  stones  and  of  the  sand  dunes  are  relieved  by 
only  one  note  of  warmth,  the  brownish  red  of  the  brick  wall. 
Then  the  low  sand  dunes,  the  level  expanse  of  the  sea,  the  low 
walls,  the  one  windblown  juniper  bush, — to  this  picture  is  added 
but  one  note  of  emphasis,  the  ancient  poplars  and  ash  trees 
standing  forth  as  lonely  sentinels.  These  elements  combine 
objectively  to  produce  the  effect  which  Hauptmann  comments 
upon  in  the  sentence:  "Etwas  romantisch  Diisteres  liegt  auf 
diesem  Gebiet".  And  it  is  all  in  harmony  with  the  sense  of 
impending  disaster  which  develops  during  the  act.  This  is 
emphasized  throughout  the  act  by  such  things  as  the  flight  of  a 
seamew  over  the  valley  of  the  dunes®^  and  the  cry  of  a  crow^"" 
just  before  Schilling's  collapse.  A  gruesome  effect  is  also  pro- 
duced by  Schilling's  imitation  of  the  call  of  the  cuckoo,  with  the 
returning  echo.^®^ 

The  scene  of  the  fourth  act  is  a  room  on  the  first  floor  of 
the  inn.  Through  the  windows  the  sea  is  visible,  which  like  a 
blue  wall  so  completely  fills  the  frame  of  one's  vision  that  only  a 
small  bit  of  sky  can  be  seen.  It  is  once  more  a  radiantly  clear 
autumn  day. 

Act  V  repeats  the  scene  of  the  first  act.  But  now  the  sun 
has  set,  leaving  the  sky  suffused  with  a  vivid  afterglow  which 
casts  a  magical  light  over  the  scene.  This  magic  effect  is  the 
keynote  of  the  nature  element  in  the  whole  scene.  It  reveals  an 
extreme  subjectivity  which  makes  nature  take  direct  interest  in 


Gabriel  Schillings  Flucht,  p.  208  (cf.  Einsame  Menschen,  p.  287). 
"  Gabriel  Schillings  Flucht,  p.  218. 
*  Gabriel  Schillings  Flucht,  p.  213  ff . 


44     Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann 

the  fate  of  the  wretched,  tormented  Schilling,  for  whom  there  is 
no  relief  except  in  the  depths  of  the  sea.  The  tension  of  the 
whole  situation  is  felt  in  the  atmosphere.  From  Miss  Lucy  and 
Miss  Majakin  one  hears  that  there  is :  "etwas  so  Verhaltenes,  was 
so  formlich  beangstigt,  in  der  Luft."^'^^  The  dead  calm  makes 
the  water  so  clear  that  every  boat  is  mirrored  on  its  glassy  sur- 
face. At  the  close  of  the  drama  the  fresh,  invigorating  wind 
rises,  bringing  with  it  a  refreshing  storm.  The  sea  begins  to 
roar  with  constantly  increasing  loudness  and  grows  black  as  coal 
with  strange  streaks  of  yellow  foam  that  cast  yellow  reflections, 
bordered  by  a  purplish  red,  upon  the  wet  sand,^*^^ — a  magic  efifect 
which  nature  assumes  as  a  sign  that  Gabriel  Schilling  has  at 
last  found  a  "refuge  safe  and  eternal".^*'* 

The  importance  of  the  nature  element  in  this  drama  is 
greatly  emphasized  by  the  constant  reference  to  it  that  the 
various  characters  make. 

In  Gabriel  Schilling  we  have  one  of  the  most  notable  exam- 
ples of  expression  of  temperament  through  reaction  to  nature. 
This  high-strung  artist  is  a  "problematische  Natur"  of  the  most 
exaggerated  type,  physically  and  spiritually  sick,  "tortured  by  the 
beak  and  clawlike  nervous  energy  of  two  women  who  pursue  him 
in  a  passion  for  possession  and  absorption."^^^  In  this  condition 
the  sea  and  the  fresh  salt  air  are  for  Schilling  not  only  the  means 
of  physical  invigoration,  but  the  embodiment  also  of  spiritual 
purity  and  freedom.  This,  then,  explains  his  exclamation  of 
exaggerated  exaltation  at  the  sight  of  the  sea  and  the  prospect 
of  bathing  in  its  waves: 

"Es  ist  verflucht,  wie  unsereiner  nervos  auf  dem  Hunde 
ist.  Man  merkt  das  vor  so  einem  plotzlichen  Ein- 
druck.  .  .  .  Du  kannst  dir  nicht  denken,  Ottfried,  wie 
sehr  ich  diesmal  nach  dem  Anblick  gelechzt  habe.     .     .     . 


"^  Gabriel  Schillings  Flucht,  p.  237. 
^'"  Gabriel  Schillings  Flucht,  p.  239. 
^"  Gabriel  Schillings  Flucht,  p.  246. 
"°  Ludwig  Lewisohn,  Dramatic  Works  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann,  Vol.  VI, 

p.  X. 


Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Haiiptmann     45 

Ich  habe  mitten  im  Larm  und  Asphaltgestank  der  Fried- 
richstrasse  schon  immer  das  Meer  vor  Augen  gesehen,  tat- 
sachlich,  als  richtige  Luftspiegelung.  Ich  bin  wie  ein  See- 
hund!  Ich  mochte  gleich  Hals  iiber  Kopf  mitten 
hinein.  .  .  .  Und  nu  June,  Reinheit,  Freiheit!  Luft! 
Gott  sei  Dank,  ja,  man  kann  hier  wieder  mal  atmen!  Hof- 
fentHch  kommt  bald'n  Sturm!  So  was  Wildes,  Frisches, 
Tolles,  Brausendes,  Salzhaltiges  branch  ich! — ein  Bad! — 
Kein  Weibergeplarr !  Kein  Zungengedresch  in  Nacht- 
cafes!  In  Freiheit  zugrunde  gehn,  meinethalb — nur  nicht 
vergurgeln  in  einem  Abraumkanale !"  ^^® 

That  the  sea  has  come  to  have  a  supersensual  significance 
for  Schilling  appears  definitely  in  the  following  remark: 

"Ich  glotze  diesmal  die  See  mit  Augen  an — wovon  ihr 
keine  Ahnung  habt,  Kinder.  Als  wenn  einem  der  Starr 
gestochen  worden  ist.  Dort  stammen  wir  her,  dort  gehoren 
wir  hin."  ^"^^ 

And  this  feature  is  emphasized,  when,  still  more  nervously 
excited  as  a  result  of  the  visit  from  Hanna  Elias,  listening  to 
the  sea  in  motionless  delirium,  he  raises  his  arms  ecstatically 
as  if  he  had  caught  a  supernatural  vision,  and  cries — "Oh!!! 
Oh!!!  Oh!!!  das  Element,  das  Element!"  And  then,  as  if 
blinded  by  the  supernatural  splendor  into  which  he  would  dis- 
solve, he  totters  and  falls.  ^^^  Finally,  when,  fatally  ill,  he  steals 
from  his  bed  to  find  in  the  sea  the  relief  he  so  passionately 
craves,  he  leaves  this  message  for  his  friends:  "Der  Maler 
Schilling  hat  hier  auf  Fischmeisters  Oye  die  beste  Idee  seines 
Lebens  gehabt  .  .  .  oder  sagen  Sie  lieber  bloss,  ich  bin  baden 
gegangen."  ^^^ 

Schilling's  friends,  the  sculptor  Maurer  and  the  violinist 
Lucie  Heil,  also  evince  a  love  for  the  sea  that  is  only  less  pas- 
sionate as  their  need  for  the  relief  it  offers  is  the  less  desperate. 
In  Maurer's  first  exclamation  are  mingled  both  his  aesthetic  and 


^'^  Gabriel  Schillinp'  Flucht,  pp.  180,  181,  185. 
"'  Gabriel  Schillings  Flucht,  p.  181. 
^°*  Gabriel  Schillings  Flucht,  p.  218. 
*•*  Gabriel  Schillings  Flucht,  p.  241. 


46    Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann 

his  emotional  delight:  "Diese  Klarheit!  Dieses  stumme  und 
machtige  Stromen  des  Lichtes!  Dazu  die  Freiheit  im  Wandern 
iiber  die  pfadlose  Grastafel.  Dazu  der  Salzgeschmack  auf  den 
Lippen.  Das  geradezu  bis  zu  Tranen  erschiitternde  Brausen  der 
See, — siehst  du,  hier  hinter  der  Brille  ist  noch  ein  Tropfen! — 
Dieses  satte,  strahlende  Maestoso,  womit  sie  ihre  Brandungen 
ausrollen  lasst.    Kostlich !"  "<* 

Lucy  largely  echoes  this  feeling  in  her  words:  "Die  See! 
Die  See !  Die  See !  Wenn  ihr  wollt,  dass  ich  wieder  lebendig  und 
fuchsfidel  munter  werde,  wenn  ich  mal  sollte  gestorben  sein,  so 
braucht  ihr  mich  bloss  in  Seewasser  zu  tunken!"^^^ 

To  both  Maurer  and  Lucie  there  is  a  supersensual,  an  eter- 
nal meaning  in  it  all — "Das  klare  Gefiihl,  das  sich  hier  ununter- 
brochen  meldet,  dass  hinter  dieser  sichtbaren  Welt  eine  andere 
verborgen  ist.     Nahe  bis  zum  anklopfen."^^- 

The  wild  rocky  nature  of  the  island  of  Ithaca  becomes  very 
real  in  the  play  Der  Bogen  des  Odysseus,  but  the  effect  is  pro- 
duced by  general  stage  directions,  supplemented  by  information 
given  by  the  characters  in  the  play,  rather,  than  by  strictly  nat- 
uralistic technique.  The  directions  of  the  first  act  simply  sug- 
gest a  high,  rocky  land,  partly  covered  with  forests  of  ancient 
oaks.  The  time  is  given  as  noon,  but  no  mention  is  made  of 
the  season  or  the  weather  or  the  light.  It  is  Odysseus,  returned 
after  years  of  wandering,  who,  by  identifying  certain  landmarks 
of  his  passionately  loved  home,  gives  the  further  details  which 
complete  the  picture  of  the  landscape: 

"Walder,  ihr  umgriint 

Des  Felsens  Flanke  wie  ein  Vlies!  zur  Bucht 
Ergiesst  ein  Strom  sich!  Weiden  stehen  dort 
und  Pappeln!  Fischer  liegen  auf  dem  Fang 
und  draussen  kreuzen  Segel! — Schliess  ich  nun 
Mein  Auge  oder  tu  ich's  auf:  es  ist 
Das  gleiche  Bild!  dem  innren  Sinne  und 
Dem  aussern  die  gleiche  Wohltat!    .    .    ."  "^ 


'^'Gabriel  Schillings  Flucht,  p.  I74- 
"'  Gabriel  Schillings  Flucht,  p.  189. 
"'  Gabriel  Schillings  Flucht,  p.  206. 
"*  Der  Bogen  des  Odysseus,  p.  28. 


Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann    47 

and  again: 

"Liegt  hinter  jenen  sanften  Hiigeln  dort, 
Die  vom  Gevvolk  des  Olbaums  grau  umschattet, 
Den  Strom  verbergend,  nach  der  Kiiste  streben,    .    .    .  ? 
Liegt  hinter  ihnen.    .    .    .  ?  zwar  verborgen    .    .    .?nein?" 

In  another  place  he  mentions  that  it  is  cold  on  the  island.^^* 

From  Leukone's  reply  to  Melanto's  complaint  about  carry- 
ing water  we  discover  that  there  is  a  drought  in  the  land: 

"...    Duklagst 
und  klagst,  und  doch  kann  ich  die  wasserlose  Zeit, 
Die  Vater  Kroion  liber  uns  verhangt, 
Nicht  wandeln.     Kann  die  heiligen  Wasserquellen, 
Die  trockenen,  nicht  wieder  springen  machen."  **^ 

This  remark  gives  the  keynote  to  the  nature  treatment 
throughout  thej  drama,  Hauptmann  has  made  it  reflect  the 
nature  feeling  of  the  Homeric  period  in  which  it  is  laid.  Just 
as  the  drought  is  due  to  Kronos,  so  all  the  phenomena  are  re- 
garded with  delight  or  alarm  as  manifestations  of  the  favor  or 
disfavor  of  the  gods.  It  is  a  land,  as  Lewisohn  says,  where 
"The  thunder  is  the  very  voice  of  Zeus ;  Pan  plays  his  pipes  in 
the  shaggy  hills  and  over  the  windless  sea  hovers  the  malignity 
of  Poseidon."  ^^^  Since  this  is  typical  of  the  nature  element 
throughout  the  play  it  has  not  been  considered  necessary  to 
present  the  details  of  the  following  acts.""^ 


"*Z)<?r  Bogen  des  Odysseus,  p.  32. 
^^^  Der  Bogen  des  Odysseus,  p.  10. 
"*  Gerhart  Hauptmann — Dramatic  Works,  VII,  p.  13. 
"'  For  further  examples  cf.  Der  Bogen  des  Odysseus,  pp.  107,  108,  112, 
114,  lis. 


CHAPTER  IV. 
Dramas  With  Indoor  Settings. 

In  considering  the  plays  of  the  second  group  there  will,  of 
course,  be  little  question  of  actual  landscape  description.  In  most 
cases  the  nature  element  in  the  background  takes  the  form  of 
suggestions  concerning  effects  of  atmosphere  and  light.  Indi- 
viduals make  correspondingly  little  reference  to  nature.  The 
task  will,  therefore,  usually  consist  in  determining  the  relation 
between  these  nature  touches  and  the  play  itself. 

The  action  of  Das  Friedensfest  takes  place  in  a  lonely  coun- 
try house  on  the  Schiitzenhiigel  near  Erkner,  in  the  late  afternoon 
and  evening  of  the  day  before  Christmas.  In  the  detailed  de- 
scription of  the  room  is  included  the  fact  that  the  windows  are 
frozen  and  partly  banked  with  snow.  This  realistic  touch  adds 
dreariness  to  the  situation  in  which  the  members  of  a  family, 
hopelessly  divided  by  their  individual  hereditary  characteristics, 
meet  for  an  attempted  reconciliation.  There  is  no  other  refer- 
ence to  nature  in  the  play. 

Die  Weber  gives  no  decription  of  outdoor  surroundings  be- 
yond a  mention  of  the  setting  in  Kaschbach  in  the  Eulengebirge, 
in  Peterswaldau  and  in  Langenbielau  at  the  foot  of  the  Eulenge- 
birge, but  in  two  of  the  acts  skillful  use  is  made  of  the  atmos- 
pheric and  light  effects  to  help  define  the  mood.  A  sultry  noon- 
day toward  the  end  of  May  is  the  fitting  time  chosen  to  present 
the  mob  of  waiting  weavers  in  Act  I,  standing  as  if  before  the 
bar  of  justice  in  torturing  expectation  of  a  decision  that  may 
mean  life  or  death  to  them.  In  Act  II  the  pathos  of  the  scene  in 
the  dilapidated  little  room  of  the  weaver  Ansorge  is  accentuated 
by  the  faint  ray  of  rosy  evening  light  which  shines  upon  the 
shrivelled  face  of  the  old  woman  at  the  spinning  wheel.  Other- 
wise there  is  no  use  of  nature  in  the  play. 

In  the  "dream  poem"  Hannele,  the  nature  element  in  the  mil- 
lieu  of  the  child's  life  plays  an  important  part  in  shaping  her 

(48) 


Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann     49 

visions  of  heaven.  The  stage  directions  define  the  scene  as  a 
stormy  December  evening  in  a  room  of  an  almshouse.  Frequent 
allusions  on  the  part  of  the  characters  and  the  accompanying 
stage  directions  continue  to  attract  attention  to  the  howHng  wind 
and  drizzling  snow.^^^  This,  however,  ceases  during  the  act,  so 
that  as  Dr.  Gottwald  and  Dr.  Wachler  watch  at  Hannele's  bed- 
side the  moonlight  streams  in  upon  them.^^®  From  this  point  on, 
Hauptmann  makes  constant  use  of  various  phenomena  of  light 
for  dramatic  purposes.  It  is  almost  dark  when  Mattern,  drunk 
and  unkempt,  appears  at  the  foot  of  Hannele's  bed  and  threatens 
her  with  punishment,'^*'  but  the  moonlight  shines  clearly  upon 
her  head  as  she  fancies  she  hears  the  voice  of  Jesus  calling  her 
to  Him. '2'  Again,  twilight  fills  the  room  as  the  pale  and  ghostly 
form  of  Hannele's  mother  appears  at  the  bedside  where  Han- 
nele  is  now  sleeping.  Then  as  the  children's  voices  are  heard 
singing : 

"Schlaf,  Kindchen,  schlaf," 

the  room  gradually  grows  quite  dark.'^^  Finally,  as  a  closing 
effect,  a  gold-green  light  suddenly  floods  the  room,  while  angels 
appear  and  take  up  the  song.'^^ 

The  scene  of  the  second  act  is  the  same  as  it  was  before  the 
appearance  of  the  angels.  Again  various  effects  of  light  accom- 
pany the  action.  A  supernatural,  white  light  fills  the  room  when 
the  Angel  of  Death  appears.'^*  At  this  point,  too,  the  storm  out- 
side begins  to  gain  in  strength. '^^  As  Hannele  lies  in  death  a 
pale  light  shines  upon  her  body.'^®  When  Mattern,  accused  of 
cruelty  toward  Hannele,  swears  his  innocence,  faint  blue  flashes 
of  lightning  and  rumbling  of  thunder  register  nature's  protest  to 
his  perjury. '2^  A  mystic,  greenish-yellow  light  streams  from 
the  "Himmelsschliissel"  in  Hannele's  hand  when  Mattern,  in 
turn,  accuses  Hannele  of  having  cheated  him.'^^   Then  a  golden- 


^  Hannele s  Himmelfahrt,  pp.  13,  14,  15,  16. 

"^  Hannele s  Himmelfahrt,  p.  24.  ^Hanneles  Himmelfahrt,  p.  37; 

"°  Hanmles  Himmelfahrt,  p.  28.  >»  Hanneles  Himmelfahrt,  p.  40. 

^ Hanneles  Himmelfahrt,  p.  31.1  ^Hanneles  Himmelfahrt,  p.  44J 

""  Hanneles  Himmelfahrt,  p.  32.  ^  Hanneles  Himmelfahrt,  p.  48; 

^Hanneles  Himmelfahrt,  p.  34.  ^Hanneles  Himmelfahrt,  p.  49. 


50    Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann 

green  light  steals  into  the  room  as  the  stranger  advances  to  the 
coffin  and  calls  to  Hannele  to  arise.  At  the  close,  as  the  angels 
sing,  the  room  gradually  grows  light  again,  revealing  the  alms- 
house as  it  was  in  the  original  scene.  ^-^ 

The  child  Hannele  herself  frequently  gives  expression  to 
her  "Weltweh,"  her  "Himmelssehnsucht'  and  her  idea  of  "Him- 
melslicht"  very  largely  in  terms  of  nature.  On  earth  she  has 
seen  mostly  the  cold,  cruel  side  of  nature.  The  memory  of  the 
many  nights  she  has  been  compelled  to  spend  out  in  the  snow 
until  she  could  beg  enough  money  to  satisfy  her  brutal  step- 
father lends  real  terror  to  her  cry:  "Horch,  wie  der  Wald 
rauscht!  Heute  morgen  hat  ein  Windbaum  auf  den  Bergen  ge- 
legen.  .  .  .  Horch!  es  stiirmt!"^^®  And  her  last  desperate 
act,  to  which  she  has  been  driven  in  the  hope  of  finding  relief 
from  her  misery,  has  simply  brought  her  the  new  horror  of  con- 
tact with  the  black,  icy  depths  of  the  pool.  The  heaven  of  her 
imagination,  therefore,  is  naturally  one  of  sunny  warmth  and 
beauty  and  plenty,  and  the  words  of  the  old  slumber  song  with 
which  Martha  induces  her  to  sleep  are,  in  turn,  suggestive  of  the 
joys  she  craves: 

"Schlaf,  Kindchen,  Schlaf ! 
Im  Garten  geht  ein  Schaf, 
Im  Garten  geht  ein  Lammelein, 
Schlaf,  Kindchen,  Schlaf." 

That  the  vision  of  a  beautiful  and  kindly  outdoor  world  is 
before  her  as  she  sleeps,  is  evident  from  her  remark  to  her  mother : 
"In  deinem  Gaumen  wachsen  Maiglockchen,"  and  from  her  ques- 
tion :  "1st  es  schon,  wo  du  bist?"  And  the  mother's  answer  again 
emphasizes  the  point:  "Weite,  weite  Auen,  bewahrt  vor  dem 
Winde,  geborgen  vor  Sturm  und  Hagel wetter,  in  Gottes  Hut." 
Hannele's  childish  longing  for  flowers  is  also  anticipated  in  the 
assurance  that  roses  and  lilies  will  cool  her  fever-parched  heart. 
The  pledge  of  these  joys  that  are  to  come  is  given  her  in  the 
form  of  the  "Himmelsschliissel."^^^    Finally,  the  whole  concep- 

^  Hannele s  Himmelfahrt,  p.  53. 
^  Hanneles  Himmelfahrt,  p.  24. 
^Hanneles  Himmelfahrt,  p.  33. 


Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann    51 

tion  that  nature  is  to  grant  her  in  heaven  the  deHghts  denied  her 
upon  earth  is  expressed  in  the  angels'  song,  each  stanza  of  which 
emphasizes  its  particular  form  of  joy.  Although  so  often  quoted 
elsewhere,  these  lines  may  be  included  here  as  of  particular  in- 
terest for  the  present  investigation : 

"Auf  jenen  Hiigeln  die  Sonne, 
Sie  hat  dir  ihr  Gold  nicht  gegeben; 
Das  wehende  Griin  in  den  Talern, 
Es  hat  sich  fiir  dich  nicht  gebrcitet. 

Das  goldene  Bret  auf  den  Ackern, 
Dir  wollt  es  den  Hunger  nicht  stillen; 
Die  Milch  der  weidenden  Kinder, 
Dir  schaumte  sie  nicht  in  den  Krugj 

Die  Blumen  und  Bliiten  der  Erde, 
Gesogen  voll  Duft  und  voll  Susse, 
Voll   Purpur  und  himmlischer  Blaue, 
Dir  saumten  sie  nicht  deinen  Weg. 

Wir  bringen  ein  erstes  Grtissen 
Durch  Finsternisse  getragen; 
Wir  haben  auf  unsern  Fedem 
Ein  erstes  Hauchen  von  Gluck. 

Wir  fuhren  am  Saum  unsrer  Kleider 
Ein  erstes  Duften  des  Fruhlings; 
Es  bliihet  von  unsern  Lippen 
Die  erste  Rote  des  Tages. 

Es  leuchtet  von  unsern  Fussen 
Der  griine  Schein  unsrer  Heimat : 
Es  blitzen  im  Grund  unsrer  Augen 
Die  Zinnen  der  ewigen  Stadt."  "* 

Again,  in  the  last  scene,  the  chief  delights  of  Hanriele's 
heaven  are  described  in  nature  symbols.  Her  eyes  are  to  be  filled 
with  everlasting  light;  her  soul  is  to  be  all  sunshine;  eternal 
brightness  is  to  be  hers  from  dawn  to  eve  and  then  until  dawn 
again.  She  is  to  feast  her  eyes  upon  all  the  glories  of  the  deep 
blue  sea  and  azure  sky  and  fair  green  trees.  In  the  famous  clos* 
ing  lines  Hauptmann  lets  his  own  fancy  run  riot  in  depicting  the 
extravagant  wonders  of  Hannele's  paradise.  There  roses  and 
lilies  grow  in  the  streets,  beautiful  butterflies  flutter  around,  and 
swans  soft  as  snow  circle  about  in  the  sky.    Hannele  is  to  be 


"'Hanneles  Himmelfahrt,  p.  34. 


52     Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hatiptmann 

warm  and  comfortable,  as  she  is  borne  to  this  paradise  above 
waving  grasses  and  beyond  shimmering  wastes  of  moonlit  space. 
While  she  rests  there  she  is  to  be  refreshed  by  antelope's  milk  and 
water  from  the  mountain  brook.  The  dews  and  moisture  of  the 
budding  sprays  of  lilac  and  jasmine  will  drip  gently  upon  her 
like  the  showers  of  May.  Humming  birds  of  iris  hues,  flashing 
gold  and  green  from  walls  of  malachite,  daffodils  and  tulips, 
swaying  palms  and  glorious  red  poppies  are  all  to  delight  the 
senses  of  a  child  who  upon  earth  has  known  nothing  but  cold  and 
gloom  and  ugliness. 

The  little  touch  of  nature  introduced  into  the  drama  Der 
rote  Hahn  can  claim  neither  aesthetic  nor  symbolic  effect,  for  the 
windy  weather  that  prevails  is  merely  a  condition  necessary  to 
the  success  of  the  incendiaries.  The  wind  is  first  mentioned  in 
the  stage  directions  of  Act  II  and  subsequently  emphasized 
throughout  the  act.'^^ 

Thejiature  background  in  the  fantastically  symbolic  drama 
Und  Pippa  tanzt  shows  an  interesting  combination  of  naturalis- 
tic technique  and  symbolic  application.  Though  all  the  acts  have 
indoor  settings  they  all  include  some  suggestion  of  their  Silesian 
Mountain  surroundings.  In  i\ct  I  a  public  room  in  old  Wende's 
tavern  in  Redbrook  Gorge  is  so  scantily  lighted  that  the  moon- 
light which  steals  in  through  the  windows  is  noticeable  in  the 
smoky  atmosphere.  It  is  after  midnight,  and  rigorous  winter 
weather  prevails  outside.  These  details  all  emphasize  the  unsuit- 
ableness  of  this  forbidding  place  for  Pippa,  the  lovely  embodi- 
ment of  the  Ideal  of  Beauty,  who  has  come  from  her  home  in 
Venice  to  "dem  verreisten  Barbarenland." 

The  second  act  depicts  a  worse  scene  in  the  interior  of  a  soli- 
tary cabin  in  the  mountains,  where  smoke,  age  and  neglect  have 
had  their  full  effect.  Windows  are  stopped  with  straw,  moss, 
leaves  and  boards.  The  floor  is  covered  with  leaves,  and  the 
bed  of  boards  covered  with  birch,  beech  and  oak  leaves.  A  single 
bright  ray  of  moonlight  makes  its  way  through  a  window  in  the 
room.  The  first  gusts  of  a  rising  storm  are  heard,  and  snow  blows 


'  Der  rote  Hahn,  pp.  314,  218,  234. 


Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann    53 

into  the  house.  One  furious  blast  after  another  heightens  the 
dramatic  effect  of  this  part  of  the  act  in  which  Pippa  crouches  in 
desperate  terror  before  her  captor,  Huhn.  This,  in  itself  natur- 
alistic, phenomenon  is  followed  by  a  more  artificial,  symbolic 
touch  just  before  Hellriegel,  who  has  come  to  rescue  Pippa,  ap- 
pears in  the  door.  "Nun  ist  es,  als  ob  etwas  wie  ein  klingendcr 
Luftzug  durch  den  finsteren  Raum  hauchte."  And,  as  he  comes 
in,  we  are  told  that  "Die  Musik  noch  immer  zunehmend  ebbt  und 
flutet."^^^  At  the  close  of  the  act  when  Pippa  and  Hellriegel, 
rapturously  happy  in  their  love  for  each  other,  plan  to  leave  the 
cold,  bare  mountains  for  the  warm,  sunny  south,  the  first  gleam 
of  the  morning  sun  is  seen  on  Hellriegel's  finger  as  a  symbol  of 
the  joys  in  store  for  them  in  the  southlands.  Then,  as  the  curtain 
falls,  music  which  had  begun  with  the  appearance  of  the  sun  con- 
tinues, representing  the  mighty  spectacle.  ^^^  This  melodramatic 
effect  (in  the  literal  sense  of  the  term)  is  an  interesting  departure 
from  Hauptmann's  usual  treatment  of  nature. 

Act  III  takes  us  to  a  snow-bound  hut  on  the  ridge  of  the 
mountains.  The  mountain  top  itself  is  symbolic  of  the  spiritual 
heights  upon  which  the  worthy  old  man  Wann  dwells,  whose 
face  is,  as  it  were,  covered  with  runes  and  whose  age  seems 
strength,  beauty  and  youth  raised  to  a  high  power.  The  peculiar 
objects  in  the  room  of  this  mythical  person,  such  as  collections 
of  excavated  implements,  glass  globes,  a  telescope  and  a  model 
of  a  Venetian  gondola  are  brought  out  sharply  and  fantastically 
by  the  glow  of  the  setting  sun. 

In  Act  IV,  which  is  simply  a  continuation  of  the  third  act, 
nature  shows  by  subterranean  rumbling  its  disturbance  at  Huhn's 
invitation  to  Pippa  to  dance  with  him,  and  when  Pippa  yields  and 
grants  him  the  dance  that  causes  her  death,  muffled  sounds  of 
rumbling  thunder  again  come  from  the  depths  of  the  earth. ^^'^ 
As  a  closing  dramatic  effect,  Hellriegel's  joy  in  the  belief  that 


Und  Pippa  tanst,  p.  122,  123. 

Und  Pippa  tanst,  pj  131. 

Und  Pippa  tanst,  pp.  159,  161. 


54    Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann 

he  has  at  last  been  wedded  to  his  Ideal,  Pippa,  is  reflected  in  the 
new  light  of  the  morning. ^^^ 

In  this  play  Hauptmann  once  more  makes  sensitiveness  to 
the  background  vary  with  the  temperaments  of  the  individuals. 
The  director,  the  dashing  gentleman  of  the  world,  whose  chief 
delight  is  the  enjoyment  of  Parisian  cafes,  considers  the  two 
hours'  ride  through  the  forest  on  a  cold  January  day  simply  a 
necessary  evil  to  be  endured  in  the  hope  of  finding  some  enter- 
tainment in  the  Redbrook  Gorge  Inn.  When  he  is  disappointed 
in  this  he  resents  the  very  clearness  of  the  January  night. — "Acht- 
zehn  Grad!"  he  says;  "klar!  hell  wie  am  lichten  Tag!  zum  wahn- 
sinnig  werden  der  Sternenhimmel !  blau,  alles  blau!"*** 

With  Michael  Hellriegel,  however,  it  is  different.  This 
young  man  whose  pale  face  shows  unusual,  almost  noble,  feat- 
ures, and  in  whose  whole  appearance  there  is  a  touch  of  the  fan- 
tastic, is  an  idealist  who  pursues  "einem  fliegenden  Spinnge- 
webe  hundert  Meilen  und  weiter  nach."  He  gladly  braves  the 
cold  and  the  snow  because  he  is  on  the  search  for  the  unusual, 
which  proves  to  be  Pippa,  the  embodiment  of  the  ideal  of  love- 
liness. The  feeling  for  nature  that  one  expects  to  find  in  such  a 
temperament  shows  itself  first  of  all  in  the  question  he  asks 
Pippa  about  Venice,  her  home.  Her  report  of  the  springtime 
beauty  of  her  land  attracts  him  at  once,  and  in  his  rapture  over 
the  fact  that  Pippa  will  entrust  herself  to  him  on  the  journey 
thither,  he  eagerly  greets  the  first  ray  of  sun  that  shines  on  the 
cold  mountain  top  as  a  promise  of  the  delights  of  the  south. — 
"Es  kriecht  schon  ein  bischen  Sonne  dran.  Die  kann  man  essen ! 
Die  muss  man  ablecken!  da  steht  man  nicht  ab  und  behalt  heiss 
Blut! — Horst  du  auch  Vogel  singen,  Pippa  ?"^^*  And  his  ecstasy 
grows  as  he  contemplates  the  rising  sun:  "Ziep,  Ziep!  das  kann 
eine  Maus,  eine  Goldammer  oder  eine  Tiirangel  sein ! — Einerlei : 
alle  merken  was !  das  alte  Haus  knistert  durch  und  durch !  manch- 


Und  Pippa  tanst.  p.  i66. 
Und  Pippa  tanzt,  p.  105. 
Und  Pippa  tanst,  pj  130. 


Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann     55 

mal  wird  mir  gerade  ganz  erhaben  zumut!  wenn  das  ungeheure 
Ereignis  kommt  .  .  .  !^'**^  And  he  seems  to  ride  above 
the  mountain  tops  and  over  the  seas  of  hyacinths,  and 
then  to  sink  down  among  marble  gardens  and  meadows  blue 
with  flowers  and  into  emerald  valleys.  Hellriegel's  intense 
desire  for  the  beauty  of  the  southern  lands  reaches  a 
climax  when  he  fancies  that  through  the  death  of  his  rival  Huhn 
the  last  obstacle  in  the  way  of  taking  Pippa  with  him  to  the  land 
of  his  dreams  has  been  removed.  Blind  as  he  is,  and,  therefore, 
unaware  that  Pippa  has  been  crushed  to  death  by  the  brutal  force 
of  Huhn,  he  believes  he  gets  a  vision  of  splendid  mountains  flam- 
ing in  the  light  of  morning,  of  peninsulas  and  bays  and  gardens 
and  valleys,  of  the  sea,  and  beyond  it  another  sea  which  reflects 
the  twinkling  lights  of  millions  of  little  stars,  among  which  he 
and  Pippa  are  floating  to  their  golden  palace. 

With  Fuhrmann  Henschel  Hauptmann  returns  to  the  purely 
naturalistic  technique.  The  minute  description  of  the  peasant 
room  in  the  basement  of  a  hotel  in  a  Silesian  watering  place  be- 
gins with  the  statement  that  the  gloomy  light  of  a  late  winter 
afternoon  is  coming  in  through  two  windows  set  high  in  the 
wall.  The  concluding  sentence  of  the  description  defines  the  time 
as  the  middle  of  February  and  states  that  the  weather  is  stormy. 
Both  stage  directions  and  dialogue  indicate  that  the  storm  be- 
comes wilder  as  the  act  progresses. ^^^  The  setting  again  ac- 
cords with  the  dreariness  of  the  scene  in  which  Frau  Henschel 
approaches  her  death  with  the  conviction  that  her  husband  is  no 
longer  true  to  her  in  his  thought. 

Act  n  plays  in  the  same  room  as  Act  I.  The  bed  in  which 
Frau  Henschel  died  has  been  removed  and  the  window  which  it 
covered  is  wide  open.  Through  it  shines  the  sun  of  a  beautiful 
morning  in  May.  The  springtime  cheer  is  suggestive  of  the 
mood  of  the  Henschel  household,  where  the  success  of  Hanna's 
scheme  to  marry  Henschel  becomes  assured. 

Acts  ni  and  IV  make  no  use  of  the  nature  element. 


Und  Pippa  tanst,  p.  130. 

Fuhrmann  Henschel,  pp.  377.  378,  380. 


56    Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann 

In  Act  V  the  moon  which  shines  into  the  little  room  of  the 
first  three  acts  not  only  lends  a  soft  light  to  a  pathetic  scene,  but 
it  assumes  also  a  mystical,  supersensual  significance,  which  is  as 
unmistakable  as  that  of  the  ocean  in  Gabriel  Schillings  Flucht. 
In  this  play  the  naive  and  undemonstrative  drayman  gives  ex- 
pression to  his  belief  in  the  simple  statement  "Da  oben  sein 
gjg"i42 — ^j^g  .^^ife  and  child  whom  he  thinks  he  has  killed.  And 
the  calm  and  peace  suggested  by  the  moon  is  as  different  from 
the  roaring,  tumbling  ocean  as  the  quiet  life  of  the  Henschels  is 
different  from  the  nervous  excitement  of  Schilling's  experience. 

In  the  naturalistic  play  Michael  Kramer,  the  room  in  the 
apartment  of  the  artist  Kramer  in  a  provincial  capital  is  seen  on 
a  dark  winter  morning  toward  nine  o'clock.  This  is  in  accord 
with  the  dismal  tone  of  a  scene  which  depicts  misunderstanding 
and  consequent  antagonism  between  members  of  the  same  family. 

In  Act  II  Hauptmann  fails  to  include  in  the  extremely  min- 
ute description  of  Michael  Kramer's  studio  any  mention  of  the 
light  or  of  the  view  of  beautiful  poplars  mentioned  by  the  land- 
scape painter  Lachmann  during  a  visit  with  Kramer.  This  is  a 
striking  lapse  in  the  naturalistic  technique. 

Twilight  lends  a  subdued  effect  to  the  restaurant  which  is 
to  be  the  unhappy  scene  of  the  quarrel  in  Act  III,  which  ends  in 
Arnold  Kramer's  going  out  to  drown  himself. 

Kramer's  studio,  where  in  Act  IV  the  dead  body  of  Arnold 
lies,  is  made  more  somber  by  the  dull  light  of  late  afternoon. 
A  faint  afterglow  of  the  sun  that  has  already  set  comes  through 
the  windows  as  the  curtains  are  pushed  aside  to  reveal  the  dead 
body.  This  is  in  itself  a  realistic  effect,  but  it  is  probably  used 
for  symbolic  purposes. 

Although  the  dream  technique  is  used  again  in  Elga,  there  is 
much  less  of  the  supernatural  and  artificial  and  symbolic  in  the 
nature  element  than  in  Hannele.  The  changes  in  the  background 
are  chiefly  realistic  ones,  so  used  as  to  increase  the  dramatic 
effect.  The  stage  directions  of  the  first  scene  fail  to  define  the 
place  beyond  the  mention  of  an  "emster,  hoher  Raum  in  einem 
Kloster,"     From  the  conversation  between  the  knight  and  the 


'  Fuhrmarm  Henschel,  p.  436. 


Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann     57 

monk  we  discover  that  the  monastery  is  situated  in  the  beautiful 
valley  of  the  Woidwodschaft  Sendomir,  a  blessed  land  of  splen- 
did forests  and  hills  and  ravines  and  of  fruitful  fields  and  flow- 
ers.*^* The  mystery  and  the  uncanniness  of  the  room,  which,  the 
servant  says,  is  haunted  and  in  which  the  bed  resembles  a  coffin, 
is  increased  by  the  dimness  of  twilight.  As  the  knight  meditates 
alone  the  moonlight  shines  more  and  more  clearly  and  brightly 
upon  him.  After  the  visit  of  the  monk  who  hints  at  strange  and 
gloomy  things  about  Count  Starschenski,  who  has  become  a  re- 
cluse in  the  cloister,  the  moonlight  disappears  and  leaves  the 
room  absolutely  dark  as  a  transition  to  the  dream.  In  the  first 
scene  of  this  dream,  representing  Count  Starschenski  in  the  ful- 
ness of  his  joy  with  wife  and  child,  the  beautiful  room  is  flooded 
with  the  sunlight.  From  the  text  we  discover  that  it  is  the  sun- 
light of  springtime. ^*^  The  directions  of  the  next  scene,  in  whicli 
Elga  is  waiting  for  her  secret  lover  Oginski,  state  simply  that  it 
is  night,  but  Elga  adds  "Es  ist  heute  so  hell.  .  .  .  Der  Mond 
scheint  so  furchtbar  hell.  Fast  tagehell  ist  es."^^^  But  here  the 
obvious  intention  is  not  to  call  attention  to  the  beauty  or  to  the 
romantic  eflfect  of  the  moonlight,  but  rather  to  emphasize  the 
added  danger  to  Oginski.  In  Scene  4,  where  Starschenski  sits  in 
his  armchair  brooding  over  the  thought  of  his  wife's  disloyalty  to 
him,  the  stage  directions  indicate  that  it  is  the  hour  before  sun- 
rise. The  beauty  of  the  sun  as  it  gradually  rises  beyond  the 
fields,  and  the  music  of  the  birds  in  the  garden  are  described  by 
Starschenski 's  mother.  Hauptmann  makes  use  of  the  joyousness 
of  this  nature  scene  to  emphasize  by  contrast  the  gloomy  dejec- 
tion of  Starschenski. 

Scene  6  brings  us  back  to  witness  those  horrors  which  have 
left  their  peculiarly  gruesome  effect  upon  the  room  as  noted  in 
Scene  i.  This  is  emphasized  by  the  mention  of  the  chill  of  the 
spring  night  in  which  a  heavy  frost  has  come  and  left  the  ground 


*"  This  general  description  corresponds  to  that  in  the  opening  paragraphs 
of  Grillparzer's  Das  Kloster  bet  Sendomir,  the  story  upon  which  the  play  is 
based;    cf.  Grillparzer,  Sdmtliche  Werke,  Vol.  13,  pp.  195  flF. 

^'*  Elga,  p.  211. 

**•  Elga,  pj  223.  .  / 


58    Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann 

strewn  with  the  blossoms  of  the  trees. ^**  Again  the  room  itself 
is  dark,  except  for  the  faint  light  of  the  moon,  until  a  candle  is 
lighted  in  order  that  Elga  may  see  the  body  of  her  lover,  whom 
her  husband  has  murdered.  Then,  as  Elga  turns  away  from  her 
husband  in  hatred  and  horror  and  disgust,  a  profound  darkness 
falls  upon  the  room.  Soon  a  glimmer  of  morning  light  steals 
through  the  window,  until  gradually  the  silhouette  of  the  Knight 
becomes  visible  against  the  slowly  reddening  sky,  and  the  dream 
is  ended. ^^'^ 

The  reaction  of  Starschenski  to  nature  about  him  depends 
entirely  upon  his  passionate  love  for  Elga,  Until  he  knew  Elga, 
he  says,  the  world  was  nothing  more  than  a  musty  prison.  He 
could  not  comprehend  others  when  they  spoke  of  flowers  and 
green  fields  and  golden  harvests,  when  they  heard  a  jubilee  in 
the  song  of  birds  and  saw  a  smile  in  the  blue  of  the  sky.^^*  It 
is  Elga's  love,  he  says,  that  has  made  him  sensible  of  all  these 
things.  And  when  Elga  proves  false  to  him,  not  only  do  the 
beauties  of  springtime  lose  their  charm  for  him  again,  but  they 
become  a  source  of  actual  torment.  "Es  ist  ein  Jubel,"  he  says 
of  the  songs  of  the  birds,  "der  einem  zum  Hollenhohn  werden 
kann."^" 

Elga  gives  expression  to  her  own  restless  longings  in  the 
words  of  the  song : 

"Ich  bin  ein  wilder  Vogel 
Und  fahre  daher.i 
Ich  bin  ein  weisser  Falke, 
Ein  schwanenweisser  Sperber! 
Ich  segle  unter  der  Sonne 
und  iiber  meinem  Schatten : 
Tief  unter  mein  Schatten, 
mein  Schatten  zieht  mit  mir.'"^ 

A  subtle  expression  of  her  passionate  mood  as  she  waits 
for  Oginski  is  found  in  the  remark :  "Wie  siiss  der  Geruch  des 
Flieders  ist!    Ach,  Dortka!  Dortka!"^^' 


'Elga.  p.  250. 
Elga,  pp.  352  flF. 
'Elga,  p.  21 1 J 
'Elga,  p.  331. 
'Elga,  p.  221. 
'  Elga,  pj  223. 


Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gcrhart  Hauptmann     59 

The  minutely  described  milieu  of  Der  Biherpels  includes  a 
slight  touch  of  nature  in  the  first  and  second  acts.  In  Act  I  it 
is  winter  and  moonlight;  in  Act  II,  a  bright  forenoon  in  winter. 
his  suggestion  of  the  clear  cold  winter  weather  is,  first  of  all, 
in  accord  with  the  spirit  of  the  play,  as  indicated  by  the  sub- 
title Diebskombdie,  and,  in  the  second  place,  takes  a  definite  part 
in  the  plans  of  the  thieves,  as  indicated  in  the  dialogue. ^^- 

Although  the  naturalistic  drama  Die  Ratten  is  located  in  the 
city  of  Berlin,  nature  plays  a  definite  part  both  in  the  aspect  of 
the  actual  physical  environment  and  in  the  symbolic  application. 
The  attic,  and  still  more,  the  loft  above  it,  which  form  the  scene 
of  Acts  I  and  III,  are  examples  of  the  mustiness  and  gloom  that 
follow  from  the  lack  of  sunshine  and  fresh  air,  and  the  whole 
situation  is  one  which  is  well  described  by  John's  words : 

"Aliens  is  hier  morsch!  Aliens  faule  Holz!  Aliens  unter- 
miniert,  von  Unjeziefer,  von  Ratten  und  Mause  zerfressen!"^^* 
This  condition  of  affairs  is  emphasized  by  the  dialogue.^^* 

The  only  bit  of  brightness  is  seen  in  Act  II,  when  the  warm 
sunlight  of  a  May  afternoon  shines  through  the  windows  of  a 
room  below  the  attic,  where  Frau  John  sits  contentedly  by  the 
perambulator  of  the  child  she  has  taken  as  her  own. 

The  stage  directions  at  the  beginning  of  Act  IV  include  no 
mention  of  outdoor  conditions.  With  the  progress  of  the  act, 
however,  the  thunderstorm  which  comes  up  adds  quite  subtly 
to  the  vividness  of  Bruno's  account  of  the  murder,  especially 
since  it  was  committed  while  just  such  a  storm  raged. ^^^  In 
Act  V  there  is  no  mention  of  outdoor  condition^. 


'Der  BiberpeLs.  pp.  370,  373,  380,  388. 
'Die  Ratten,  p.  530. 
'Die  Ratten,  ppj  429,  431,  435,  436,  437. 
*Die  Ratten,  p.  504,  508,  510,  519. 


CHAPTER  V. 
Conclusion. 

The  nature  element  in  Hauptmann's  dramatic  art  becomes 
more  highly  significant  when  the  characteristics  discovered  in 
the  individual  plays  are  brought  together  and  observed  in  their 
entirety  and  in  the  light  of  comparison  with  corresponding 
phases  of  other,  contemporary  dramas.  The  present  chapter 
contains  the  general  conclusions  drawn  from  such  a  comparison 
with  Ibsen  and  Strindberg,  whose  dramatic  forms,  like  Haupt- 
mann's, run  the  wide  gamut  from  romanticism  to  ultranatural- 
sim. 

The  first  feature  to  be  noted  is  the  extent  to  which  the 
nature-sense  has  influenced  the  choice  of  dramatic  settings.  Out 
of  the  twenty-four  Hauptmann  dramas  studied  in  the  foregoing 
chapters,  only  three^^®  are  located  in  large  cities.  Of  those  with 
rural  surroimdings  eleven  have  outdoor  scenes,  and  in  the  scenic 
description  of  all  but  three  of  those  which  have  indoor  settings 
(including  the  three  in  cities),  some  phase  of  nature  is  in- 
cluded. Both  Ibsen  and  Strindberg  share  Hauptmann's  fondness 
for  landscape  background.  Of  the  twenty-one  Ibsen  dramas 
studied,  all  but  five  ^^'^  include  some  form  of  actual  landscape 
background,  and  all  but  two  ^^*  some  detail  of  outdoor  condi- 
tions.   Strindberg  includes  a  view  of  landscape  in  twenty-two  ^^^ 


^"The  striking  contrast  in  this  respect  with  Sudermann  may  be  sug- 
gested incidentally.  Out  of  twenty-four  of  the  latter's  plays,  ten  are  placed 
in  large  cities,  and  only  two  of  the  remaining  ones  include  a  description  of 
landscape  settings 

^  Kronprdtendenten;  Puppenheim;  Volksfeind;  Wildente;  Hedda  Gab- 
ler. 

"•  Kronprdtendenten;  Volksfeind 

"*  Meister  Olaf ;  Gliickspeter;  Frdulein  Julia;  Glduhiger;  Paria;  Erste 
Warnung;  Sanium;  Das  Band;  Mit  dem  Feuer  spielen;  Rausch,  Totentanz, 
J,  II;  Gustav  Wasa;  Advent;  Ostern;  Mittsomnter;  Ein  Traumspiel;  Die 
Kronbraut;  Schwanenweiss;  Brandstdtte;  Gespenstersonata;  Abu  Caserns 
Pantoffeln;  Die  Grosse  Landstrasse. 

(60) 


Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann    6i 

out  of  thirty-seven  dramas  and  gives  some  touch  of  nature  to 
the  settings  of  all  but  four.^*''^ 

Hauptmann  also  shares  with  Ibsen  and  Strindberg  the 
natural  tendency  to  depict  the  scenery  of  his  own  home  land. 
Most  often  it  is  Silesia,  but  the  Saale  Valley,  the  Black  Forest, 
and  Brandenburg  are  also  included.  In  addition,  there  are  re- 
flections of  his  wider  acquaintance  with  the  outdoor  world  in 
settings  in  the  Italian  lake  region,  in  Poland,  on  the  coast  of 
the  Baltic,  and  on  the  island  of  Ithaca.  Ibsen  is  still  more  dis- 
tinctly a  "Heimatskiinstler"  so  far  as  dramatic  background  is 
concerned.  Although  he  spent  much  time  in  other  lands,  he  chose 
as  settings  almost  exclusively  the  coast  of  northern,  western, 
or  southern  Norway,  or  the  islands  nearby.  Exceptions  are  found 
in  the  foreign  settings  of  Morocco  and  Egypt,^®^  and  of  Con- 
stantinople, Athens,  Ephesus,  Antioch,  Gaul.^®^  Strindberg  fre- 
quently fails  to  state  the  exact  location  of  his  dramas.  Those 
mentioned  are  predominantly  Swedish,  including  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Stockholm  and  various  sections  of  Dalecarlia.  Foreign  lo- 
calities definitely  mentioned  include  Paris,^^^  French  Switzer- 
land,^^^  a  German  landscape,^®^  Algeria  ^°®  and  Bagdad.^^^ 

Concerning  the  nature  technique,  the  investigation  has 
shown  that  full  and  detailed  descriptions  of  landscape  settings 
are  given  in  Hauptmann's  stage  directions.  This  characteristic 
is  not  confined  to  the  naturalistic  plays,  although  it  is  here  most 
pronounced,  but  it  appears  also  in  poetic,  legendary,  and  roman- 
tic plays.  Note  has  been  made  of  descriptions  that  were  so 
general  as  to  require  the  addition  of  supplementary  details  in 
the  dialogue.     These  descriptions  betray  on  the  whole  no  ten- 


^  Debet  und  Kredit;  Folkungersaga;  Der  Scheiterhaufen;  Die  Siarkere. 

"^Peer  Gynt,  III,  IV.     - 

""  Kaiser  und  Galilder. 

***  Rausch. 

*•  Vorm  Tode. 

^  Erste  Warnung. 

*^Samum. 

^  Abu  Caserns  Pant  off  eln. 


62     Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann 

dency  to  include  subjective  comment.  Only  three  instances  of 
the  slightest  approach  to  it  were  found.  These  were  in  natural- 
istic plays.  On  the  other  hand,  the  descriptions  by  no  means 
leave  the  impression  of  mere  catalogues  of  uncoordinated  de- 
tails, the  chief  object  of  which  is  the  so-called  scientific  accu- 
racy demanded  by  consistent  naturalistic  principles.  On  the 
contrary,  they  evince  in  their  entirety  definite  artistic  intent  on 
Hauptmann's  part.  Details  pleasing  in  themselves,  such  as  the 
trees  which  are  pictured  again  and  again  in  markedly  varied 
beauty, — great  oaks,  stately  elms,  delicate  willows,  dark  firs  and 
blossoming  fruit  trees;  lovely  green  meadows,  through  which 
flower-and-tree-bordered  brooks  wind  their  way;  delightful 
little  springs  splashing  their  water  into  primitive  stone  basins; 
quiet  lakes;  the  dreamily  calm,  or  the  gloriously  stormy  ocean, 
— all  these  details  might  be  merely  a  result  of  the  inevitable, 
almost  unconscious,  selection  of  an  observing  nature-lover  who 
had  had  the  good  fortune  to  spend  most  of  his  time  in  a  lovely 
and  varied  outdoor  world.  A  study  of  these  nature  settings  has, 
however,  revealed  more  than  this.  Repeated  instances  have  been 
found  of  a  care  for  arrangement  of  line,  for  proper  proportion  in 
spacing  to  create  depth,  for  the  repetition  of  significant  elements 
in  the  production  of  rhythm,  for  the  use  of  symmetry,  and,  in 
general,  for  the  proper  subordination  of  all  the  parts  of  the  pic- 
ture to  the  centre  of  interest.  Through  the  knowledge  of  these 
principles  of  landscape  composition,  Hauptmann  has  produced 
stage  settings  which  are  definitely  expressive  of  a  particular  idea, 
of  beauty,  for  example,  or  majesty,  or  joyousness,  or  loneliness, 
or  despair.  And  these  effects  are  enhanced  in  most  cases  by  a 
skillful  use  of  light  and  atmosphere.  Indeed  in  some  instances 
this  has  been  the  chief  element  in  determining  the  emotional 
effect  of  the  picture.  Proof  of  the  last  statement  is  found  in 
the  different  moods  aroused  in  the  same  play  by  the  same  land- 
scape at  different  hours  of  the  day,  in  different  conditions  of 
weather,  or  in  different  seasons  of  the  year.  The  fact  that  the 
mood  thus  aroused  by  the  picture  was  found  always  to  antici- 


Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann     63 

pate  that  of  the  particular  situation  in  the  drama  furnishes  addi- 
tional evidence  of  conscious  subjective  arrangement  of  the  na- 
ture background.  It  may  of  course  be  argued  that  this  is  merely 
in  accord  with  the  naturalistic  theory  that  every  detail  of  the 
environment  is  important  in  determining  the  character  and  ac- 
tion of  the  individuals.  This  must  be  admitted  to  a  certain  ex- 
tent. Unquestionably  there  is  the  closest  interaction,  in  the 
purely  naturalistic  sense,  between  the  outdoor  environment  and 
the  temperament  of  such  individuals  as  Rose  Bemd,  Griselda,  or 
Gersuind.  In  each  case  the  girl  is  essentially  an  embodiment 
of  nature  as  presented  in  the  background.  And,  further,  it  must 
be  admitted  that  there  is  in  many  cases  an  interaction  between 
the  passing  moods  of  nature  and  of  man.  It  is  also  true,  how- 
ever, that  in  actual  life  the  darkest  depths  of  human  experience 
are  frequently  fathomed  at  times  when  nature  is  brightest  and, 
on  the  other  hand,  that  the  heights  of  happiness  are  reached  in 
spite  of  nature's  depression.  Therefore,  since  Hauptmann 
never  defines  the  mood  of  nature  (in  the  twenty-one  dramas  in 
question)  as  otherwise  than  accordant  with  the  mood  of  the 
drama  itself  (except  in  two  scenes  in  which  he  expressly  makes 
use  of  contrast  for  purposes  of  emphasis),  it  can  hardly  be  as- 
suming too  much  to  conclude  that  he  breaks  with  the  naturalis- 
tic principle  and  definitely  and  deliberately  arranges  the  nature 
background  for  theatric  effect. 

Still  further  confirmation  of  this  statement  is  found  in  the 
changes  which  occur  in  the  nature  background  during  an  act. 
In  most  instances  these  phenomena  are,  to  be  sure,  in  them- 
selves entirely  realistic,  but  they  are  indicated  at  such  crucial 
moments,  even  in  the  naturalistic  plays,  that  they  can  hardly 
escape  the  implication  of  use  for  dramatic  effect,  if  not  for  a 
definitely  symbolic  purpose. 

This  method  of  creating  a  sympathetic  nature  background 
finds  its  prototype  in  the  Ibsen  dramas.  Even  in  the  earliest, 
romantic  period,  the  naturalistic  technique  is  anticipated  in  stage 
directions  that  are  fairly  definite  as  to  contour  and  atmosphere. 
The  extreme  fullness  of  detail  noted  in  various  plays  of  Haupt- 


64    Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann 

mann,  from  his  earliest  period  on,  is  not  to  be  found  in  the 
Ibsen  dramas  until  the  latest  group  ^^®  is  reached. ^^^ 

These  descriptions  include  no  subjective  comment,  but  they 
do  disclose  the  painter's  dis|)osition  in  the  care  for  composition 
and  the  poet's  temperament  in  the  harmony  that  exists  between 
the  mood  of  the  setting  and  that  of  the  drama.  In  practically 
all  the  dramas  this  is  emphasized  by  a  definition  of  light  or 
atmosphere. ^^°  In  many  instances  phenomena  of  nature,  chiefly 
the  realistic  ones  due  to  the  passing  of  time  or  changes  in 
weather  conditions,  accompany  the  action  and,  in  various  plays, 
heighten  the  dramatic  effect  of  the  closing  scene. ^^^ 

Although  Strindberg,  like  Ibsen  and  Hauptmann,  pays 
great  attention  to  the  settings  of  his  plays,  his  landscajye  descrip- 
tions are  for  the  most  part  simple  and  suggestive,  rather  than 
elaborately  detailed.  ^'^    In  plays  with  interior  settings  he  some- 


"*  In  referring  to  the  different  groups  of  Ibsen's  and  Strindberg's  dramas, 
the  classifications  made  respectively  by  Heller  in  Henrik  Ibsen  (Houghton 
Mifflin  Co.,  Boston,  1912),  and  Bjorkman  in  his  articles  on  Strindberg  in 
The  Forum  of  February  and  March,  1912,  have  been  adhered  to. 

"'  The  following  are  typical : 

Die  Helden  auf  Helgeland,  Act  I :  A  rocky  coast  which  runs  precipi- 
tously down  to  the  sea  at  the  back.'  To  the  left,  a  boat  house,  to  the  right, 
rocks  and  pinewoods.  The  masts  of  two  warships  visible  in  cove.  Far  out 
to  the  right,  the  sea  dotted  with  reefs  and  skerries,  on  which  the  surf  is 
running  high:  a  stormy,  snow-grey  winter  day. 

Die  Frau  votn  Meere,  Act  IIL  A  remote  part  of  Dr.  Mangel's  garden — 
damp,  marshy,  and  overshadowed  by  large,  old  trees.  The  edge  of  a  stag- 
nant pond  is  seen  to  the  right.  The  garden  is  divided  from  the  footpath  and 
fjord  in  the  background  by  a  low  fence.  Far  in  the  distance  the  mountain 
ranges  rise  into  peaks  behind  the  fjord. 

More  detailed  descriptions  are  found  in  Klein  Eyolf,  Acts  II  and  III; 
Wenn  wir  Toten  erwachen,  I,  II,  IIIj 

"•Dt>  Kronpratendenten  and  Bin  Volksfeind  merely  state  the  time  as 
"evening"  or  "morning,"  without  indicating  whether  the  moon  or  the  sun  is 
shining. 

*"  See  the  following  plays.    The  *  indicates  a  special  closing  effect. 

Die  Helden  auf  Helgeland*;  Komodie  der  Liehe;  Brand*;  Peer  Gynt* ; 
Die  Frau  vom  Meere;  Klein  Eyolf;  Die  StUtsen  der  Gesellschaft* ;  Gespen- 
ster*;  Die  Wildente;  Rostnersholm;  John  Gabriel  Borkman;  Wenn  wir 
Toten  erwachen. 

"*  The  following  are  typical : 

Gluckspeter,  XL— Snow-clad  woods;  diagonally  across  stage  is  an  ice- 
covered  brook.    Dawn.    Wind  blowing  through  trees. 

Rausch,  IV.— Garden.    The  wind  is  stirring  up  the  dead  leaves. 
Mit  dem  Feuer  spielen. — Garden. 


Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann    65 

times  merely  mentions  that  there  is  a  view  of  landscape/^^  with- 
out indicating  its  aspect;  but  more  frequently  he  directs  the  eye 
to  one  or  two  features  of  the  outdoor  scene. ^^*  These  details, 
rather  than  statements  concerning  the  light  or  atmosphere,  serve 
to  define  the  mood.  In  the  latest  group  of  plays  there  are  more 
examples  of  landscape  descriptions  which  are  detailed  as  to  con- 
tour and  atmosphere.  ^^"  These  pictures  show  skilled  composi- 
tion and  the  ability  to  arouse  desired  moods. 

When  aspects  of  nature  are  defined  in  the  beginning  they 
usually  accompany  and,  in  some  cases,  take  part  in  the  final 
effect.  These  manifestations  of  nature  may  be  realistic  ones,  as 
wind,  storm,  changes  of  light,  but  in  some  of  the  symbolic  plays 
most  extravagantly  fantastic  phenomena  are  frequent. ^^^ 

A  study  of  the  characteristics  just  indicated  in  summary 
brings  the  conclusion  that  whether  they  use  the  form  of  a  "Mar- 
chendrama"  such  as  Peer  Gynt  or  Gliickspeter  or  Die  versunkene 
Glocke,  or  the  ultranaturalistic  technique  of  Gespenster  or  Paria 
or  Vor  Sonnenaufgang,  Ibsen,  Strindberg,  and  Hauptmann,  all 
gpive  a  temperamental  interpretation  and  not  an  objective  repro- 
duction of  nature.  What  Biese  says  of  the  art  with  which 
Shakespeare  assigns  nature  a  part  in  the  play  and  makes  it  form 
not  only  the  appropriate  background,  dark  or  light  as  required, 
but  also  exert  an  influence  upon  human  fate,^'"  might  be  applied 


"'  Cf .  Gl'dubiger. — Parlor-door,  through  which  a  landscape  is  seenj 

Engelhrecht  I. — Room  in  the  house  of  Engelbrecht:  a  large  window  in 
the  rear  which  opens  upon  a  landscape 

^*  Gliickspeter  I. — Room  in  a  church  towerj  Starlit  sky  seen  through 
windows  at  back.    Snow-covered  house-roofs. 

FrauUin  Julie. — Large  kitchenj  Arched  doorway,  through  which  are 
seen  a  fountain  with  a  Cupid,  lilac  shrubs  in  bloom,  and  the  tops  of  Lom- 
bardy  poplars. 

Gustav  Wasa,  III.< — The  King's  study.  Several  windows  are  open,  and 
through  these  may  be  seen  trees  in  the  first  green  of  spring. 

•"See,  for  sample,  Mittsommer,  I;  Karl  XII,  I;  Die  Kronbraut,  I;  Ein 
Trcmmspiel,  I. 

**  See,  for  example,  the  following  playsj  A  *  indicates  a  special  climactic 
tflFect.  Paria;  Samutn;  Advent*;  Totentattii*' ;  Die  Konhraut* ;  Traumspiel; 
Gespenstersonata* ;  Wetterleuchten*.  See  especially:  Gliickspeter,  Advent, 
Schwanenweiss,  Traumspiel. 

"*  A.  Biese — The  Development  of  the  Feeling  for  Nature,  London,  1905J 


66    Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann 

in  varied  degrees  to  the  nature  treatment  of  these  three  repre- 
sentative modern  dramatists.  What  Shakespeare  suggests  to  the 
imagination  in  passages  of  descriptive  poetry,  these  writers  pre- 
sent in  stage  directions  for  direct  pictorial  representation  upon 
the  stage.  In  their  naturalistic  as  well  as  in  their  romantic  plays, 
they  give  evidence,  not  only  of  a  keen-eyed  observation  of  the 
phenomena  of  nature,  but  also  of  the  poetic  instinct  that  finds 
in  them  an  inner  meaning. 

The  question,  then,  arises  as  to  whether  there  is  a  particu- 
lar aspect  of  nature  to  which  these  dramatists  most  characteris- - 
tically  respond.  Does  the  modern,  naturalistically  inclined  dra- 
matist reject  the  landscape  that  is  "charming  and  fair,"  as  dis- 
cordant with  his  mood,  and  seek  instead  a  more  "sombre  and 
chastened  sublimity  of  scene?" 

With  Ibsen  in  mind,  one  might  be  inclined  to  answer  this 
question  affirmatively,  for  certainly  the  colder,  mist-enveiled 
fjords  of  the  north,  with  their  barren,  rocky  coasts  and  the  bleak, 
icy  mountains,  overhung  with  dark,  heavy  clouds,  form  a  char- 
acteristic Ibsen  landscape.  And  the  individuals  who  would  at- 
tain their  ideals  must  seek  the  mountain  tops  where  life  is  vigor- 
ous and  lonesome  and  forbidding,  but,  at  the  same  time,  healthy 
and  free  and  exhilarating.  Only  death  brings  the  consciousness 
of  the  purifying  and  gladdening  rays  of  the  sun  to  those  whose 
lives  have  been  spent  in  the  mist  and  gloom  of  the  lowlands. 

But  this  conception  of  nature  is  peculiar  to  Ibsen  rather 
than  characteristic  of  the  period.  Strindberg's  landscape  is  en- 
tirely diflferent.  He  does,  indeed,  depict  the  frozen  lakes  and 
snow-covered  woods  with  which  he,  too,  from  his  life  in  the 
north,  is  familiar,  but  the  aspect  of  the  outdoor  world  that  he 
likes  best  to  picture  is  the  colorful,  fragrant  springtime,  made 
melodious  with  songs  of  birds  and  the  rustling  of  the  breezes. 
It  is  significant  that  flowers,  either  cut  or  growing,  appear  some- 
where in  the  setting  of  almost  every  drama  of  Strindberg's. 
And  the  realization  of  ideals  is  expressed,  not  through  the  ascent 
of  rugged  mountains,  but  through  the  transformation  from  the 
snowy,  bleak  landscapes  of  winter  to  these  flower-filled  gardens. 


Nature  Background  in  Dramas  of  Gerhart  Hauptmann    67 

Hauptmann's  landscape  reflects  still  another  temperament. 
It  is  true  that  he  presents  the  vigor  and  the  sublimity  of  the 
mountain  top  and  the  sea.  He  has  the  capacity,  too,  for  the  en- 
joyment of  the  voluptuous  beauty  of  southern  lands,  but  the 
favorite  aspect  of  nature  with  him  is  the  gentler  and  the  simpler 
charm  of  the  stretch  of  green  fields,  dotted  here  and  there  with 
groups  of  trees  and  enclosed  by  a  range  of  wooded  hills  along 
the  horizon.  From  the  sordidness  of  human  experience,  the 
"Weh  der  Erde,"  he  looks  away  to  such  a  scene  as  this  and 
catches  a  glimpse  of  the  "Himmels  licht." 

^  u 

7. 
Philadelphia, 


BIBLIOGRAPHY. 


Dramas  Which  Form  the  Basis  of  the  Foregoing  Study. 


Gerhart  Hauptmann  Gesammelte  IVerke.    Volksausgabe  in  sechs 

Banden.     S.  Fischer,  Berlin,  191 2. 
Heinrik  Ibsens  samtlkhe  IVerke  in  deutscher  Sprache.    Durch- 

gesehen  unci  eingeleitet  von  Georg  Brandes,  Julius  Elias, 

Paul  Schlenther.    Berlin,  1898-1903. 
Strindhergs  Werke.     Deutsche    Gesamtausgabe    unter    Mitwir- 

-l^'ang>  von    Emil    Schering    als  Ubersetzer.     Vom  Dichter 
;  .'seibst  t'eranstaltet.     Berlin,  1914. 
*Meister  Olaf.    Translated  from  the  Swedish  with  an  Introduc- 
tion by  E.  Bjorkman.     From  the  Prose  Version  of  1872. 

Boston,  191 5. 
*  Lucky  Pehr   (Gliickspeter).     Translated  by  V.   S.   Howard. 

Cincinnati,  19I3. 

In  addition  to  the  German  editions  listed  above,  the  fol- 
lowing translations  and  the  admirable  introductions  to  the  sev- 
eral volumes  have  been  consulted  : 
Gerhart   Hauptmann.    Dramatic    Works.     Edited    by    Ludwig 

Lewisohn.     Seven  volumes.    Published  by  B.  W.  Huebsch. 

New  York,  191 3- 191 7. 
The    Collected    Works   of   Henrik   Ibsen.     Edited  by  William 

Archer.    Twelve  volumes.    New  York.     Charles  Scribner's 

Sons,  1908-1911. 
Plays  by  August  Strindberg.     Translated   from  the   Swedish, 

with  an  Introduction  by  Edwin  Bjorkman.     New   York. 

Charles  Scribner's  Sons.     Four  Series,  191 2-19 16. 

It  has  not  been  considered  necessary  to  reprint  a  bibliog- 
raphy of  bibliographical  and  critical  material,  since  nothing  of 
value  to  the  foregoing  study  can  be  added  to  bibliographies 
already  published  elsewhere.  Those  works  which  have  con- 
tained helpful  material  have  been  cited  in  the  notes  of  the  sev- 
eral chapters. 


*Not  included  in  the  Gesamtausgabe. 
(68) 


14  DAY  USE 

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